


Fear is the only reliable way

by Sifu_HotMan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Assassins & Hitmen, Attempt at Humor, Badass Sokka (Avatar), Bending (Avatar), F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fluff, Gaang (Avatar), I Ship It, Matter of Life and Death, Minor Violence, Moving On, Post-Break Up, Power Play, Republic City, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-04-19 06:04:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 51,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14230926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sifu_HotMan/pseuds/Sifu_HotMan
Summary: Power loves perfection. They go hand and hand. One can't be without the other. Though, perfection can turn toxic... and power can become dark. They need eachother, but they can change eachother, too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a few changes to this chapter because the story wasn't lining up, but I think I'll probably make even more when I find the time: reason being that I am not happy with the writing at all. In this chapter and a few others.  
> If you are reading this for the first time, just know that my writing improves DRASTICALLY as this story goes on and I'd really appreciate it if you overlook the flaws in early chapters - I can see them, I hate them, and I want to fix them DESPERATELY but I won't have the time for a while.  
> Seriously, tho, I promise you. My most recent chapter throws this one under the bus. A years practice makes a lot of difference!

Blue and orange melded together as much as possible for the two colours. At the same time, grey focused on blue, and blue on grey, as if one depended on the other. They did depend on one another. Not for long, he thought to himself; or not in the way they used to.

"I hope we can still be friends?"

"That was always my intention." He smiled, the air between them growing lighter with every passing second. "I'm still sorry it has to end, but you know why." He spoke lightly.

"I know," She sighed, swallowing back tears but smiling to hide the sadness she feels. "I'll always love you." She choked out the words.

"And I, you. How could I not?" She laughs at his compliment but stops as he looks away. "But not like I used to. The spark is gone. You think so too."

Her silence is enough of an agreement. 

"Be happy. Please." He pleads with her making Katara frown. The Airbender never ceased to make her happy, and she hopes he realises that. "I only hope you wish the same for me." He whispered, and grey met blue again, both pairs of eyes overflowing with emotion.

"Of course I do, Aang." She pulled him into a final embrace, silent tears now rolling down her cheeks They wet the avatars shirt. After nearly six years the couple would be no more, and Katara couldn't bear to let him go... no matter how much she wanted another. She would always love Aang more than anyone. He would never leave her heart and she would never leave his, but their relationship had been on the verge of ending for a long time. The difference today was that Aang decided to speak the words neither of them wanted to. And that was that. The end of an era.

And the start of something new.

As they cried on each other's shoulders, holding each other close, the Waterbender didn't know that Aang's eyes... were cold. They were full of hurt. Because he knew something; something she had kept from him.

Soon, she and Zuko would 'fall in love' in the public eye. Then their 'new' relationship would become public to their friends, the fire nation, and most likely the rest of the world. Little did she know, Sokka found evidence of her infidelity and had let Aang know earlier that day.

Which led to this. This tearful breakup. Yes, it was true that the spark was gone, but unlike Katara, Aang had remained faithful through it all.

Aang was telling Katara the truth. He never lied. His love for her would never cease to exist. But he will never, could never, forget her betrayal.

Ever.

******

_**6 months ago** _

Footsteps. Far away, but easy to hear in the deffening silence.

Visits were rare and usually unpleasant. Medication? No, her dose had already been given earlier in the day (not that she needed it). Maybe it was a bowl of that rotten gruel they call food? "I'm not hungry if that's what you're here for!"

She could already taste the foul flavour in her mouth and gagged at the thought. But the footsteps continued.

"Please, I will be less than happy if you come anywhere near me with that slop!" She screamed, frustrated with the lack of courtesy around here. Being treated like a psychopath only had its downs, and today she would rather have one less by avoiding another bowl of bile. Her golden eyes rolled as the footsteps drew closer, completely ignoring her command. Do they even know who she is? It usually doesnt end well for those who ignore her. "I am not in the mood, so if you would rather have me singe the hair off your head I suggest you leave!" She threatened with as much violence as she could. 

The footsteps came to a stop... right outside her door. She was looking forward to a little violence. _Spirits help whoever has dared disobey me._ It was a delusion she often had; that she had the choice to fight back.

Silently she watched as the shadow inched through the crack under her cell door and painted part of the floor grey. Azula's eyes never left the door handle as it slowly turned to the left and the door opened a crack, then a fraction, and then a gap... and her eyes widened as a familiar colour appeared. _About time._ She smirked, and soon, her eyes found the five flamed crown of the Fire Lord.

"Well," He started, stern with his words, feet strong on the ground. "you can give it your best shot." The woman's smirk turned into a grin as she eyed the scarred man before her, his voice deep with a teasing humour. 

His facade never broke as he glared at her. She raised an eyebrow. "To what do I owe the pleasure, oh great Fire Lord?" She eyed him, wondering why he was here now.

"Are you ready to come home?" Zuko glared at his deemed insane sister, her mouth now twitched into a pout. 

"Aw... miss me already, Zuzu?"

After five years, she was finally going home.

******

The parchment he held felt disgustingly rough against his skin. Nothing about this was right. After everything, his friend didn't deserve this. The sun was blinding today, he noticed, but not as blinding as the words before him. He couldn't let it go, no matter if it came from his sister. This was wrong.

Sokka looked up, rolling the parchment back into its initial form. "Aang?" He called. The Airbender's breathing was heavy, every move was sharp and precise and Sokka suddenly couldn't help but fear his reaction to the paper in his hand. 

Katara would not get away with her unfaithfulness despite their bond of blood. Sokka wouldn't forgive her for this. "Just a minute-" The avatar groaned through clenched teeth, feet now locked to the ground with earth as he countered tophs attack.

"Come on, twinkletoes, is that all you got?" Toph giggled while chucking another boulder Aangs way, and he laughed light-heartedly. Watching them, Sokka sighed. They were having fun. He hated that he would have to put a damper on things.

"Aang!" He spoke again, but this time his voice was solid and demanding. Their heads turned with a snap toward him; even Momo's, Sokka noticed, from the bushes behind the two benders. _"Now."_ He stated, staring at his friend with urgency.

"Go. He's serious." Toph declared. She could feel how unwavering his stance was. She could hear the sharp tone of his voice better than anyone. Sokka was strong on his two feet as he watched the avatar question him with his gaze. "I'll whoop your ass later, twinkles." She stated, marking her departure. Despite the humour in her words, Toph spoke with a seriousness alien to her. _Maybe she knew what this was about?_

Aang was perplexed, the sweat still leaving glistening trails down his bare chest and back as he made his way over to Sokka. He couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes and became even more confused. _Disappointment... what in the spirit realm was this about?_ "Sokka-"

"Let's go for a walk, Aang."

A walk.

The Avatar sensed something was wrong. Very wrong. With a quick glance over his shoulder to his love, he knew instantly what this was about.

"It's Katara, isn't it." Aang stopped Sokka in his tracks. They were far enough into the trees that none of their friends could see or hear them. Well, apart from Toph. Sokka stared back at him. "It's been over for a while between us. The spark just... isn't there. I'm pretty sure she feels the same way, I'll-"

"-stop-" Sokka tried to intervene, but failed.

"-talk to her soon. I just-" 

"Stop!" Sokka spoke up, and he finally stopped. With a breath, Aang looked up at his best friend, eyebrows knitting together. "There's something else." He spoke but wished he could take it back. In a matter of seconds, the scroll was being unfolded by the arrowed hands of the Avatar and Sokka watched as his face dropped.

The air around them stilled. 

Sokka watched as his grip became tighter, the parchment crumpling under his strength. Then there was amber. The flames engulphed the paper, leaving only ash in its wake as Aang stared blankly at his hands, his face cold and his knuckles white.  _What did I do to deserve this?_

"Aang..." Sokka spoke softly, reaching a hand out to comfort his friend. There was a moment of silence where the air around them was so hard to bear. Sokka had never seen Aang this unresponsive or this angry without entering the Avatar state. Grey met blue. 

"Katara will never know I read that." His eyes bore into Sokka's. "Not until I say so." The words came from the mouth of the Avatar. They came from a stranger. Aang, Sokka's friend, was gone in this moment. He was behind all the hurt he was feeling. "Do I make myself clear?"

"If she-" 

"Do I?" Aang didn't move an inch, ashes surrounding his feet as he glared straight-faced into the eyes of his best friend.

"Yes."

Aang turned on his heal and walked further into the trees.

"Where are you going?" Sokka questioned, trying not to sound too invading. After all, he deserved space after learning about something so horrifying.

"I'll end it tonight but right now I need to think." His voice as monotone as it was earlier. Sokka nodded in reply and he leapt into the trees, jumping from branch to branch. He only hoped Aang would return soon.

When Sokka arrived back to camp, he caught his sisters gaze and tried his hardest not to give anything away. So with a smile, he let her know Aang went into town for some moon-peaches.

She believed him without question.

But across the way, he couldnt ignore Toph staring sightlessly at him. She looked sad, concerned, even, if that was possible for Toph. There, in that one moment, it was silently confirmed between them that Toph knew that Aang had left.

And she wasn't happy.

******

The palace doors opened with a burst of wind and in came the Avatar. "ZUKO?! He called at the top of his lungs. Aang needed a sparring partner, and who better than the root of his problems right now? So with charging steps, he made his way to the throne room. Eyes were drawn to his lean, toned chest and back but the palace servants were the least of his worries. Many wondered what had the Avatar so riled up and a few blushed at the sight of him half naked. But Aang kept his eyes forward and his feet strong.

Zuko was in for one hell of a match.

Aang threw open the throne room doors, his voice filled with power. "On your feet!" He demanded, powerful in his tone. But he slowed. Angry steps now timid and his confident posture now defeated. He stopped dead in his tracks. One colour filled his entire field of view and Aang nearly dropped to his knees.

Blue.

Sapphire blue.

"Demanding things already..." The words were spoken with crisp pronunciation able to come from one person and one person only. "Is that _really_ how the Avatar would greet the princess of the Fire Nation?" She criticised with a smirk. 

"Azula..." He breathed. _This_ was something he didn't see coming. Aang was unable to tear his eyes from the princess behind sapphire flames. He never thought today would be the day he would see the girl who struck him down all those years ago. Any time he pictured this moment it was bloodier. Angrier. It was anything but this. The girl before him was now... a _woman;_ and a beautiful one at that. For a split second, he forgot who she was.

But the longer he stood, the more he remembered all the horrible things she had done to him and to his friends. Finally, he snapped out of it with the help of her voice. "Yes, Avatar, that is my name." She confirmed and the flames dropped suddenly. With long strides, the princess descended the stairs.

In his peripheral vision, Aang noticed a high slit in the dress revealing her thigh... and he hated himself for noticing it.

"Though I don't quite remember yours..." Azula sighed, her eyes fully examining the powerful man before her and her skin tingled with anticipation. The years have been kind to the 12-year-old boy she remembered...

"Aang." He spoke with confidence, standing his ground as the princess slowly but surely closed the distance between them. Her gaze burned his entire body as she eyed him.

"Aang..." She mused, testing the name on her tongue... and liking it. "Avatar Aang." She continued as if he weren't there, tasting every syllable.

"Please, Azula, just Aang." He declared and her eyes widened, gold meeting grey. "There is more to me than my power," Aang spoke the truth and she raised a questioning brow. Why anyone would want to disregard their title the princess doesn't know and could never begin to understand. Especially the title of 'Avatar.'

"Oh?" She questioned, slowly moving from her position in front of him to circle the toned man, her hip lightly brushing against his thigh but Aang refused to react. He knew that's what she wanted. Azula moved like a snake in the grass, every step precise. And soon she was standing behind him, her hands now ghosting over the scar she gave him. He couldn't see, but she frowned. Meanwhile, Aang grimaced at the memory. And the fact she explored the mark so thoughtfully sparked a curiousness in him. Maybe she feels regret... or maybe she is marvelling at her masterpiece. "Do you not enjoy the attention that comes with being the most _powerful_ man in the world?" She interrogated him, her hands resting lightly against his arms and with gentle force, she turned him around to face her. The avatar shook his head, his features molded into a scowl.  _How was he supposed to react in this situation?_

"At times. But I don't like the attention for the reason I get it. They only see the Avatar." He stated. Golden eyes gazed into his, her face straight and emotionless, her head tilted, but Aang noticed her eyes held a thousand things. Secrets she would never tell and emotions she would rarely show. However, he was still painfully aware of her hands on his arms. Azula always pushed people... then, she leaned close... too close, pushing Aang closer to the edge.

"Maybe you get the attention because the years have been _kind_ to you, Aang." She purred in his ear, her claw-like nail sending a delightful yet revolting chill down his spine as she grazed it down the arrow on his arm. Something boiled under the Avatar's skin and he was losing his control. He didn't like losing control. He was thinking about her in ways that disgusted him.

So, with one swift move her wrist was in his grasp, his eyes now hard on hers, but his face still giving nothing away and she gave him a devious smile. Although he hated to admit, there was something about her... the blue bending prodigy of the Fire Nation in... a skin-tight scarlet gown that he refused to fully acknowledge, under _his power._ She was bringing out something in him that he refused to submit to. Something he didn't even fully recognize. Aang didn't like whatever it was: he was done playing nice. _"What_ are you _doing?"_ He hissed through his teeth and she glanced at his hand wrapped _oh so tightly_ around her wrist... and dared to move closer, body pressed against his. 

"No," she pouted. "what are _you_ doing... dressed like _that."_ She licked her lips, eyes gazing at the defined muscle on his chest. She was playing with him and he knew it. So to strip her of the upper hand, the grip he had on her wrist loosened and her hand dropped to her side: but he didn't back away from her hips that rested lightly against him. Aang found that he couldn't back away. It was impossible. "A woman has needs, _Aang,_ just like _any man._ Especially after six years in _captivity..."_ She hummed.

Azula slid to the side, intentionally rubbing against him as she turned to walk away and the Avatars facade rippled at the feeling. He hated that it did. Quite frankly, he was disgusted with himself in this moment.

Despite his revoltion, though, Aang watched her: back facing him as she turned her head and ushered him to follow. But Aang didn't budge. "Aren't you coming?" She pouted.

"Coming where?" He locked his gaze on her face, determined to keep them from the places he sought to look the most.

"To my rooms, _of course."_ Azula laughed out the words as if it were obvious, but Aang stayed put. The click of her heels echoed through the throne room and Aang watched as she stopped again. This time, her voice little but amused. "Don't worry, _Avatar,_ it isn't for the reason you _think."_ She sighed, and he stared. The princess was so forward and straight to the point that he was somewhat drawn to know more. Why she was here. What she wanted. And if she had changed. A part of him prayed, deep down, that she had changed. Why? He had a few ideas. Ideas he would rather not admit to. And they had only re-introduced themselves mere minutes ago.

"Aang." He corrected, the loss of patience evident in his voice eliciting another laugh from her. She didn't know that he was losing his patience due to himself; due to his own mind and thoughts. As of this second, he could care less what she called him.

"Whatever, Avatar." She spoke confidently, contradicted him. Not a surprise coming for her. Azula did what Azula wanted to do, and Aang knew that. 

Gold met grey again, her eyes dark, both parties fighting for dominance... until the princess looked away. Rare for Azula, she allowed him the satisfaction of 'winning'... but just for this once. 

Aang could follow if he wanted, she decided. It was his decision. So she continued forward, her hair flowing down her back, glossier than the silk garment she donned. She didn't look back to persuade the man any further.

It turns out she didn't need to.

Aang followed without persuasion.

******

“Where is she?” Zuko demanded as the servant, Aki, stared at him wide-eyed in fear. 

“In her rooms with the Avatar, my Lord.” The woman trembled under his angry gaze.

It was his turn to stare wide-eyed and speechless at the mentioning of his friend. “...you’re sure it was the Avatar?” He questioned trying to get his head around what he was told. They were supposed to be arriving at the palace tomorrow? There is no way Aang would do that to Katara... unless he knew.

“Yes, your highness, I am sure. The Avatar _is_ hard to _forget.”_ Aki replied, confirming the information with as much authority as a servant could; but she couldn’t stop herself from blushing at the image of the Avatar, slick with sweat, storming through the palace. Zuko rolled his eyes. Even when Aang wasn’t in the room the women were in awe of him. 

“Thank you.” He sighed, knowing fine well that she was not listening, and turned on his heel; the heavy fabric of his cloak catching in the air as he stormed off in the direction of his charming sisters' chambers leaving a stunned Aki who was still marvelling at the image in her head.

******

For a time, the silence was one that Aang would rather escape. An opaque bottle sat between an uncomfortable looking air bender and an over relaxed fire bender. The glass in his hand was full, but the one in hers had been refilled over three times now. He watched her sceptically as the glass came to her lips again and her head tipped back, the amber liquid disappearing in one short gulp. The bones in her neck protruded in such a way that the Avatar had to tear his eyes from her throat when Azula's head dipped down again, their eyes meeting. She gazed at him, an eyebrow raised as if she knew he was finding it hard not to look at her.

With a clink, the glass was set on the table, but gold never left diamond grey all the while. Azula knew what he was feeling. So with calculating moves, she crossed one leg over the other, the high slit in her gown revealing more skin than Aang was used to seeing on any noble-woman. She smirked as she slid her hand up the exposed skin, everything about her dripping with seduction.

Aang didn't budge.

Not even when the slit slid higher with the help of her fingers.

He inhaled deep. His chest expanding. Her smirk never fading and her legs. Never. Ending. He breathed out.

Aang refused to give her the satisfaction. He would not look. For spirit's sake, this woman tried to kill him on more than one occasion and actually succeeded once!

Aang had never felt his own element battle against him.

He needed to take deeper breaths. 

He wouldn't look. He would. Not. Look.

But he would allow his thoughts to swirl as a get-away. Instantly, though, his thoughts were drawn to a certain Waterbender. Aangs first love.

Katara was kind. She was pure. Stunningly beautiful and extremely attractive. Like Aang, she was mostly driven by morals. They mirrored eachother. He loved her for their likeness. Part of him loved Katara for the good in her and how it matched the good in himself. 

Though recently, he found himself wanting more. He didn't know what 'more' was at the time. Of course, he knew what sex was, but neither he nor Katara had experienced it. She wasn't ready and he respected that. He chose to wait for marriage... but he certainly wanted to break that choice on more than one occasion.

Then here Azula was. In all her glory: deliciously toxic. She was malicious. She was seductive. She was provocative, unpredictable, persuasive, confident, bad, and driven by power, not morals. She was different. She was new. Azula had what he craved... Azula was the 'more' that he wanted.

As a couple, Katara and he decided to wait until marriage... but sitting here, morals be damned. He wanted Azula here. He wanted her now... but he realised now that was how she wanted him to feel.

Aang was revolted by his thoughts. She was a killer... she _killed_ him! What, in the spirit realm, was Aang thinking? Where did this darkness come from? This wasn't right. This primal instinct in him wasn't him.

The air was thick. Too thick. He breathed deep, trying his best to abandon those thoughts.

"Why did you do it?" 

And it took her a second. Her hazy mind proving difficult to function. Although, this answer was one she didn't need to think about, and so she sat up straight, the smirk finally leaving her lips and she sighed. For once, Azula allowed the tiny portion of guilt in, put there by her mother's voice. Aang waited, scared that the answer wouldn't be what he hoped, but praying that it was. She looked away. The answer simple. "Everything I did was for the Fire Lord... for Ozai." She scowled at the memory of how her own father manipulated her into killing a twelve-year-old boy. She looked up at Aang; who had visibly relaxed. "I serve the Fire Lord, Aang. Whatever he asks of me, I do." Aang frowned. Suddenly, he sympathised with the girl from all those years ago. "Granted, I'm not a good person. I don't do good things, nor do I really want to. But I would never murder without a reason to do so." The princess spoke with a little less confidence than usual, and Aang was perplexed.

Without a reason to do so. The words repeated in his head. "So you would if Zuko asked you to." He breathed out and she decided to tell him the truth.

"Yes." She said. He blinked slow. "I serve the Fire Lord. It is my duty to do as he asks." She spoke every word clearly, the reality of them burning into the Avatars mind. 

Aang gave a brief nod before gulping down the liquid which he previously showed no interest of drinking. It burned and he frowned, turning the glass in his hand. _"What is this?"_ The words were choked out and she smiled at his reaction. 

"Does it matter?" She shrugged her shoulders, still lounged on the sofa as she watched the Avatar fill his glass again, shaking his head with some sort of scowl.

They continued as if the conversion didn't even happen.

"No, it doesnt." He hastily replied, the glass rising to his mouth and the liquid was gone within a second. He hissed at the taste while setting down the bottle and screwing the top back on. Azula smirked at the man. This was probably Aangs first drink. Real drink, anyway. "Why did you want me to come here, anyway?" He questioned the princess while leaning back into the chair opposite her.

"Well, for a drink, of course?" He chuckled at her reply. This was an odd situation. Two sworn enemies, a hero and an assumed villian. Also, an important thing to note is that he was still without his robes, which the princess silently admired... until her brother walked in. He stopped in the door frame and stared at her with a scowl. "Would you like one, Zuzu?" She held up her glass to the Fire Lord while Aang, the most powerful being alive, nearly jumped out of his skin. Azula grinned at him and shot her brother a look all while the Avatar tried his best to look... casual.

"Do either of you care to explain?"

******

The sun was setting and everyone at camp was becoming restless. Its been hours since they've seen Aang. and only one person knew exactly why he was gone. But not where he was gone.

Sokka couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't going to come back. But appa was here; he would never leave Appa. The Watertribe warrior also knew that despite everything, Aang wouldn't leave Katara without an explanation. Though if he was gone, nothing was stopping the wave of guilt from crashing over sokka. Maybe he shouldn't have told him...

"Sokka?" A concerned voice interupted the mans thoughts. A voice that could only belong to his sister.

Sokka had been avoiding her all day... ever since finding the scroll that marked the end of a relationship. Unbeknownst to her, of course. "Yes?" He turned to face her, trying his best not to sound too cold, but failing. Katara definetly knew something was up, but she would never bring that to her brothers attention. The girl was too optimistic to think the worst.

"Do you think we should be worried?" She questioned, folding her legs beneath her to sit next to her brother. In her mind, she was curious as to why he had spoken so little to her today. Their bond was always strong and they usually didn't fight; ever since Sokka passed eighteen, anyway. But right now there was some emotion hidden behind his carefree facade.

"Not at all." 

He lied.

And she decided to let the nagging feeling in her gut pass.

******

"Oh, Aang, thank the spirits you're back!" Katara cried, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and of course he hugged back, but the look on his face told Sokka that this embrace was one he knew wasn't fully heartfelt on her side. It was an act. And it hurt him. Sokka knew this. 

"I was just practicing my bending, no big deal." Aang pulled back, looking down at her with a smile. A fake one.

But her face dropped... and Sokka looked on edge. Aang had no clue why. "But... Sokka said you went to the market?" She turned her head to frown at her brother. Did he lie? Was that what the nagging feeling was? "To get moon-peaches..."

The Avatar's eyes widened and her stare made its way to his grey orbs again. He had to quickly regain calm. She could never find out where he really was... he even made Zuko swear he would never tell. If she found out she would assume the worst. "There were none left so I just went down to the river." He said with a shrug. Maybe she would believe him, but it was more likely that she wouldn't. He could feel his heart rate quicken as she looked over his features with an analytical stare.

But he cooled, his pulse slowed and he relaxed, because her stare softened and she pulled him to her. She was convinced. "Don't do that again, I was getting worried." Katara sighed, her blue eyes not leaving his. Then, Aang stiffened a little, for her hands moved to cup his face and she pulled him down to her lips. She kissed him like she didnt love another man. Like the scroll didn't exist. Like her infedelity didn't exist. Aang obviously kissed her back, but it pained him. Maybe she loved Zuko, but he still loved her and always would. To kiss her knowing this may be the last time was upsetting for Aang. So he was the one to pull away as he took her into another embrace and there, as his arms were wrapped around her and his chin rested lightly on top of her head, his eyes met Sokkas. The Avatar was holding back tears looking at his friend, the pain so clear in his face that Sokka couldn't stop his own brows from furrowing. The sight of his friend upset like this, but trying his best to act fine, was something he'd rather not see and hoped he wouldn't have to see again. What made it worse was the fact his sister was the one making him feel that way.

Yes, the spark was gone, but the love was not.

******

It was late. The moon was dull and Aang hadn't left the fire side for atleast an hour, his hands in constant motion bending the fire in ways only he could. Did he really want to do this? 

Yes. There was no other time better than now.

Tomorrow they would arrive at the Fire nation palace together (as no one knew Aang had already paid a visit alone) and there he would have a bed to sleep in and regular meals to eat. Zuko would greet him with a kind smile, or maybe none at all after finding him with a drink in his hand in Azulas chambers earlier that day, and Katara would avoid Zukos gaze as if she didn't know he was there. Or, if Aang went to her now and said what he needed to say, she would welcome Zuko's gaze with a blush.

Mind made up, he stopped what he was doing and got to his feet. With a few deep breaths, he stood outside their tent; soon to be hers alone, and entered. He noticed she wasn't sleeping, but was actually lying awake, twiddling her thumbs. She welcomed him with a smile, propping herself up on her elbows. That was until she noticed the solemn look on his face and her smile faded.

Katara dreaded it. Really dreaded it. But deep down, she knew what was coming. Her stomach was in a knot while his hand formed a tight fist around the fabric of the tents entrance. Their eyes never left one another, and he let out a shaky sigh.

"We need to talk."

~


	2. Chapter 2

The journey to the palace seemed to go on forever even though it only took 10 minutes on Appa. It felt like hours. Everyone was tired, especially Aang and Katara for good reason. They did make an effort to talk to eachother like nothing happened, but it was difficult for him. Especially when he knew she was most likely looking forward to seeing the man who set the end of their relationship in stone.

He tried not to think about it, but sometimes the image of that scroll and the words written across it-

He stopped himself. Aang wasn't going to waste another moment thinking of their defining moment. Her defining moment.

"Come on, big guy, go a little faster!" Toph complained for the fourth time in a row. She always complained, and it really wasn't helping the morale at all. Sokka hadn't as much as spoken a sentence to Katara which didn't help anything either. Aang knew he would have to tell Sokka to act a little better than he was right now. Aang gave Appa a pet.

"He's going as fast as he can Toph. I know everyone is hungry and tired, but so is Appa." He kept his face forward, his tone a little sharper than he meant for it to be; hence why Toph huffed in respone. They were close to the palace. Maybe about three minutes or so. Well, he hoped they were that close. Sitting this way wasn't the comfiest either. Every now and then he would stretch the muscles in his back; like he did right now.

"I just can't wait to get to the palace." Katara yawned from the back of the saddle. He stilled, but didn't dare turn round. Instead he found that he gripped the reigns tighter and clenched his jaw in a way that would only make him seem angry if anyone could see his face.

Who is he kidding? Of course he's angry. Toph knows it; Sokka knows it, and understands; Katara... well Katara know's something is up, but doesn't know what it is exactly.

Maybe when she see's the blue bending beauty of the Fire Nation sitting at the right hand of her lover, Katara's thoughts about being at the palace will change, Aang thought to himself. 

For now, he just decided to focus on the sky and nothing but it. However in the darkest parts of his mind, Aang was excited to see the look on her face when Azula appeared. He tried to ignore it. No matter what she had done to him or how much she had hurt him he would never think that way about her willingly. Aang couldn't deny that his thoughts were a little out of character recently, and he didn't completely understand why. All that these dark musings were capable of bringing was distress: ignoring them was the best thing to do. Soon, Aang would forgive Katara and they could be friends freely without him having to act.

Aang is always going to be the optimist, forever seeing the best in people no matter what. That will never change. 

Meanwhile, Sokka hung over the edge of the saddle stroking Appas fur. He wanted nothing more than for this journey to end. Toph mirrored him and Katara sat with her eyes shut. Aang, as always, sat alone on Appas head, concentrating on the task at hand. Just the odd move of his wrist and flex of his neck to stretch out the tense muscles let Sokka know his friend was still concious. Though noticeably fed up. How could he blame him? It was always Aang in charge of the handy-work, using up his energy instead of restoring it. Aang probably wanted to be in Sokka's shoes right now, or rather, seat, staring down at the clouds below without a care. Well, not without a care, but alot more relaxed than Aang was since- 

A flash of electric blue suddenly caught his eye.

Then another. And another. His eyes never left the same spot until it happened again, this time reaching just above the clouds clearly showing what it was. He froze on the spot and every muscle in his body tensed at the sight of lightening... flashing from the ground up. Sokka couldn't tear her name from his mind. It flashed like the lightening infront of him. Maybe the water tribe warrior was imagining things. Last time he witnessed lightening bending, it was louder, different to now. Sokka actually had to strain to hear the slightest rumble.

But still, he knew Aang would know for sure. So he got up from his spot on the saddle and with far from steady steps walked over to his friend. Fear was rising in his chest the more he thought about the possibility that that lightening carried.

Then the Avatar was snapped out of his reverie by a farmiliar voice. "Aang...?" Sokka whispered, his voice low enough for only Aang to hear and placed a hand on his shoulder. Concern laced his words. "You're gonna want to see this." He whispered again, still low enough to keep Katara or Toph from hearing. 

"What is it?" Aang replied softly, turning just slightly to look at his friend who was clearly scared. There was no time for him to think up reasons why, as with his hand, Sokka turned Aangs head to the right and instantly, he knew what had frightened him.

Lightening.

Not natural, no. This was moving from the ground upwards. This was bending. Sokka was intelligent enough to know this, but as he waited for Aang to panic, or tense up, or turn the damn bison around, or do anything normal when reacting to what they were seeing, Sokka was shocked. Because Aang, a victim of the lightening that was now silently flashing beside them, just stared at it like it was normal.

"Am I wrong, or is that who I think it is?" Sokka was nearly sure it was Azula. It couldnt be anyone else. Of course, Iroh, too, could bend lightening, but he wasn't one for showing off and rather stayed put with a good cup of tea, out of sight and out of trouble. So naturally, Sokka was curious as to why Aang didn't look phased... at all; despite the fact he was killed at that monsters hands. Sokka stared his friend down, waiting for a reply.

With a brisk nod, and a casual expression, Aangs eyes still never left the lightening. "It is." He replied without a blink. Azula was a prodigy, and no one could expect any more than a performance from her: Aang imagined as much from her on the palace training grounds below right this second. Showing off was her thing: she knew she was good and didn't fail to let people know whether that be in training or while in a life or death situation. Like in the crystal catacombs all those years ago.

Sokka just stared at him in awe. He didn't understand Aangs reaction, or lack there of. "Why aren't you scared?" He gaped, shouting in a whisper. Anyone in their right mind would be terrified. But he just sat there.

"Because I talked to her last night." Aang stated with ease and turned away from his friend, griping the reigns tighter and steering appa to the right.

The Water Tribe man went silent. She really is here. That's were he dissapeared to last night. Sokka wanted to know more, but with the raise of a brow, Sokka knew Aang would explain later.

"We're here!" Aang called to the others, ending their converation, So Sokka, as casually as he could, made his way back to his initial seat on the saddle. Katara, who was woken by Aangs voice and gave him a look. Sokka just frowned at her in confusion acting like he didnt know what she was curious about but his attention was drawn to an over excited Toph.

"Thank the spirits! We'll be back on solid ground soon, feet!" Toph cheered. This whole journey she felt like she was going to throw up, and not just because she couldn't see up here. What she just heard didn't help. But she was a good enough actor to keep quiet for now. Toph was good at everything, really, especially keeping secrets.

"What was that about?" Katara whispered to her brother.

"Oh, nothing." Sokka shrugged reassuring her that everything was fine even though he knew as soon as they reached the palace, it would be far from fine. Katara was in for the shock of her life, no pun intended.

*****

"Zuko," Aang clenched his jaw with a smile and bowed to the Fire Lord. "thank you for having us." His eyes were hard, his smile was forced and Zuko just watched him with no expression. He knew the inevitable was coming.

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied with a brisk nod and Aang moved to stand by his side. His hands, though not visible under the air nomad robes, were clasped tightly together. His expression was unwavering as he keept his eyes forward, where as Zuko was a little on edge. The others got off Appa carrying various bags and supplies. Katara was first to pass by the intimidating pair standing side by side at the palace doors. This time, Aang noticed, Katara was the one to smile at Zuko. Aang had predicted it, and with the roll of his eyes he tightened his grip. Toph was next and she didn't acknowlege the two, which was for the best. Then Sokka who had Momo perched on his shoulder. 

Aang stopped his friend in his tracks with a look. "I'll be in in a minute." He informed briskly, urging Sokka not to question him with his eyes. Sokka quickly glanced over at Zuko who looked like he was about to throw up. In an instant, he had figured out what was soon to happen and instead of protesting, Sokka did what Aang wanted and gave him a nod and entered the palace not forgetting to close the doors behind him. He didn't particularly want to be there when a fight broke out between the Avatar and the Fire Lord. He also suspected Aang wouldn't want any bystanders in the palace to hear.

Alone, the pair stood still in the silence. Zuko was the first to move and with the grace of a Fire Lord he turned to face him. Aang still didn't move. He almost made Zuko believe Aang didn't know he was there. But contradicting his assumption, Aang broke the silence before Zuko could even speak one syllable.

"You know what this is about." The words were almost grated through his teeth. The anger he felt only gre stronger as he waited for a reply, but didn't get one. So unlike every other time in his life, he turned his head towards the Fire Lord and stared him down with every ounce of authority he posessed. Aang, after 6 years, now towered over Zuko. "Answer." His voice was demanding. The orange robes still covered the majority of the air bender, hiding the frustrated way his hands were clamped together. Unlike usual, silence was not a good enough answer for Aang.

Correction: It wasn't a good enough answer for the Avatar.

With a sigh, Zuko gave in. "I think I do." He admitted quietly and Aang nodded with a scoff.  All the while, Zuko avoided his friends eyes because he knew what would be there. Hurt; anger; dissapointment; hate. Zuko was ashamed of himself. Never in his years of being on this earth did he think he would ever betray a friend in the way he did. Especially not Aang. Aang didn't deserve it at all.  

"You're ashamed now, standing before me, but I doubt you were ashamed as Katara lay beneath you, hm?" He asked rhetorically and the anger rose in his voice as he turned to fully face his so called friend. Ever since seeing the scroll he hadn't dared to let the words pass his lips. So saying it now, it lit something inside him that he couldn't subdue. 

"Aang, I swear to you it wasn't like that-" Zuko tried to explain but he was soon cut off. 

Aangs hands unclasped and the orange fabric rippled around him. "It wasn't like what, Zuko? It wasn't like you went behind my back and seduced the girl I loved?" The air grew thick around them and the smoke almost poured from the Avatars lips. "By the sounds of things, she has completely fallen head over heals. Granted, our relationship was far from over but it wasn't actually over. It wasn't written on paper, unlike the ordeal you two had which was written on actual paper, by her! So our growing apart really can't justify anything the two of you did. It can't justify your betrayal, Zuko!-" Aangs nails dug into the soft skin of his palms as his fists clenched. His voice contued to rise, as too did Zukos own anger.

"You have no right to come here, to my home, and scream in my face when I am giving you a bed to sleep in and meals to eat!-" The Fire Lord fought back. But his reasons were petty and useless. He didn't know what he was thinking. Aang  was allowed to be angry and Zuko had disrespected that, hence why Aangs face turned to an expression of disbelief. A saracastic smile painted on his lips, which was rare for the airbender.

He raised a hand to his chest looking around the pair in silence for a moment, as if to find someone who had heard the words that had just left Zukos mouth. "I don't have the right? Oh, I'm sorry, but since when was it your right to sleep with the Avatars girlfriend, who is me if you have forgotten, and expect as little a consequence as me 'screaming in your face'! I have the right to scream at you!" Now, he was disgusted, finally coming to terms with what Zuko and Katara has done. Zuko was honestly scared for his life in this moment. But even though he knew Aang would never do anything to really hurt him, there was something in Zuko's mind doubting the man's ability to control his Anger. "You know me well enough to guess that I will forgive the two of you at some point but so help me, Zuko. If you ever tell me i don't have the right again, you will regret it. Because unlike now, my words wont be the only thing hurting you. And unlike you, I have all four of the elements on my side." Aang looked him up and down and adjusted his robes. "And don't think I'm not expecting an apology."

"I am sorry, Aang-" Zuko tried, but Aang stopped him with the raise of a hand.

"When you really mean it, Zuko. Not now." He scoffed, shutting his eyes as he was physically unable to look at the man before him. "Not when your apology is solely out of fear for me." There was a beat of silence before Zuko nodded, his gaze now focused on the stone ground under his feet. Aang eyed him with an intensity that nearly set the mans robes on fire. Zuko had completely backed down. He knew he was wrong and that Aang had every right to react this way. So Aang decided that that was enough. For now. "Katara will know nothing of this." He commanded. And expectantly, Zuko complied with another slow nod. Aang gave a brisk one. "Good." He rolled his shoulders back and with a calm that seemed alien to the man who had just unleashed his anger on the Fire lord, he entered the palace doors with so much force as a gentle breeze. 

Zuko let out a breath.

"I like him." He jumped at the the voice behind him. Surprisingly, Azula appeared from around the corner. She placed a hand on her brothers back and gave it a patronising rub. "He's fiestier than he looks." She smirked at her brother and with graceful steps, followed the Avatars path into the palace as Zuko watched her in utter shock. His sister always knew how to go unseen when eaves dropping, and it scared him how quickly she returned to her normal self so soon after returning home from the asylum.

What scared him more was her sudden interest in the Avatar.

*****

There was an armchair in his sight with Aangs name on it. He needed to sit down for a bit. That was the most Aang had ever lashed out at one of his friends. 

He didnt remember the lounge room being this big, but with quiet steps he made his way to the sickingly red chair and sat.

Raising a hand to his mouth, he leaned back into the cushioned seat, thankfull that it was softer than it looked. In a way, it had felt good to let the anger out, but Zukos fear towards him left the Avatar with a sour taste in his mouth. Using fear and power to get people to talk was always a last resort for Aang, yet sometimes it was the only reliable way to make them see past his peaceful demeanor. Obviously it worked, but he couldn't help feeling guilty.

Actually, Aang decided he wouldn't be manipulated into feeling bad for speaking his mind. This time, Aang was going to stop the guilt from taking residence in him because his outbreak of anger was no where near as bad as what Zuko had physically done. It just wasn't. And Aang wasn't about to let himself suffer on both accounts.

Then Aang's eyes which were previously closed in thought opened instantly as a pair of hands curled around his shoulders. With one downward glance, his suspision was confirmed when the sight of pointed nails filled his view. Aang dropped his hand, and waited. "Stop worrying about my dick of a brother." She spoke behind him. Of course she heard. Her words were soft; unlike the harsh, crisp, tone she used most days. However, It was only a passing comment. The softness wouldn't last. Frustrated, Aang just sighed, his eyes still fixated on one spot on the ground. 

"I'm not." He replied dryly with crisp annunciation. Azula smiled to herself. She didn't expect Aang to be so... brazen, at times. 

Releasing her grip on his shoulders she rounded the chair, keeping her eyes on him. "Then stop worrying about that Water Tribe wench." She spat out the last word and stopped in-front of him with a hand on her hip, and Aang looked up at her, his face almost sinister.

"Don't insult her." He warned, so it seems the princess had crossed some invisble line, but she didn't retreat like he wanted her too.

"Aww," She pouted with the tilt of her head making Aang look away with a scoff at her child like manner. Azula needed to let him know he wasn't getting her sympathy when he still defended the woman who disrespected him.  "I guess we know who wore the pants in that relationship." She mocked with a smirk. Azula had always opted for telling it how it is, or how she thinks it is, rather than sugar coating her opinion.

Subconsciously, his nails dug in the flesh of his palms again. "Don't test me, Azula." He clenched his jaw. Right now her presence and snippy comments weren't needed... or wanted for that matter. But then again he wasn't about to demand she leave. Maybe her presence would have been appreciated if she hadn't decided to open her mouth. Slowly, she hunkered down and watched him head on as he avoided her gaze.

"I wasn't trying to," She lied. Of course she was. Azula was forever testing peoples limits. On the other hand, Aang was testing some of her own, and with a frustrated sight she grabbed his face and turned it towards her. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you." The princess demanded, and in return, the Avatar grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand from his face with ease.

"I suggest that you never do that again." His grip was light, lighter than the strength he was capable of, and the strength he yerned to use against her now, as his eyes bore into hers. His tone held a power she couldn't even begin to understand. So she watched him without so much as a blink. Then, slowly but surely he rose from the chair, taking Azula with him. Different from mere moments ago, his eyes didn't leave hers. "For you may be Azula,"  He spoke slowly, stressing every word, until he roughly pulled her closer, their faces inches apart but not a trace of tension; only intimidation. Azula's smirk faded. For once in her life, someone had forced her facade to crack. His stare darted from one golden orb to the other, making sure her concentration was on him. "but I am the Avatar." He used all of his authroity to speak like with Zuko, released her arm with little to no force, and turned away from the princess, leaving her stunned... but amused all the same. Despite what she imagined, he was far from weak.

She then decided to push a little further and allowed the smirk to appear on her lips as she watched his back. She was playing him like a fiddle. 

Aang walked with a solid pace, his orange robe catching in the air around him, rippling as he walked. "I thought you wanted to be seen as more than just the Avatar?"

Not expecting to hear her voice again, he stopped in his tracks and smiled at the question. Azula was already proving to be a challenge. One he enjoyed. But he didnt turn around. "I do." He replied confidently and without a thought. "But sometimes it's neccessary to remind people that I still have the capability of being more than just Aang."

*****

"This must be important," Sokka groaned. "you rarely ever knock." He pushed himself up using his elbows only to find Toph making her way to the bed. 

"It is." She stated simply, crossing her arms. Sokka sat for a minute in the silence and rubbed his eyes, but she didnt continue. He sat for another minute and noticed an unpleasant taste in his mouth. How long had he been asleep for?  "Sokka!" Sokka believed she may have said something.

"What?" He stiffled a yawn, wondering what time it was. Sokka swore he only lay down for a minute.

"Tell me what happened." Toph sighed, quickly losing her patience with him, like she always did. 

"What happened..." He repeated the words trying his best to figure out what she was talking about. "What happened when?"

Her arms unfolded and she tossed her head back in frustration. "What happened! Aang dissapearing? Katara and him breaking up? You dumb ass! What else would I be talking about?" Toph tended to lose her temper quite easily. What wasn't helping was the disinterest in Sokkas face, his half lidded eyes, and the lazy way he scratched his beard. 

"Oh, that!" He remembered and smiled to himself quite proudly, whereas Toph was completely unamused. "Well, you should probably sit down." And that she did.

He explained everything, leaving out no detail and barely stopping for a breath. But he did however have to warn her to keep her voice down when she went on a rant about how "Katara is one backstabbing-" and it's also where he had to stop her in not the nicest of ways. Maybe she did something awful, but she was still his sister. Then he continued about how Aang ended up here when he ran away... which is when he saw Azula. And to Sokkas surprise, Toph told him how she already overheard him and Aang talking on Appa, so she already knew. The mention of Azula meant the conversation took a turn.

"Have you seen her yet?" Sokka question, refering to the not-so-noble-woman of the Fire Nation. There was a moment of silence. Just Toph looking at him, and him looking at toph.

Then the silence was broken. "Sokka?" She grabbed his attention.

"What?" He asked cluelessly. Sometimes Toph wondered how he was still alive. At her own hands, she means. He was a very brave warrior, actually; but he didn't stand a chance against Toph. As the years went on, he gave her more reasons to kill him. Like presently.

"Do you think i've seen her?" She raised an eyebrow. It took him a minute, but the realisation soon came over him.

"Oh! Right. Sorry." His apology was genuine. Then they sat for a moment, and twiddling his thumbs looking around the room before trying again. "Well, have you... you know, sensed her?" Deservidely, he got a pillow to the head.

"You needa know when to stop, dude." She chuckled. "But no, I haven't." And then turned serious again. "Oh, and we needa go to this fancy dinner in an hour." Toph sounded less than happy while giving him this information, and Sokka didn't particularily enjoy recieving it.

"For all of us?" He moaned, hating the thoughts of getting out of this incredibly comfy bed. She only nodded with a scowl. When he said all of them, he meant all of them. "Well, this'll be fun." Dinner with Azula sounded like a horrible idea.

*****

Looking around the giant dining room, red and gold patterened curtains draped from the ceiling to the floor. About three sets on each wall. Then to add even more red to the room, there was a maroon carpet laid out beneath the mohogony wood dining table, which was paired with red cushioned mahogony chairs. The incricate designs carved into the wood were also accented with gold. Oh, and there was a chandelier; gold, if you didn't already guess, paired with red candles. And golden candleabras placed down the length of the very long table, with, you guessed it-

red candles.

It was too much red. So much so, it reminded Aang of blood rather than the Fire Nations traditional colours. And the gold? They couldn't make their royalty more obvious.

This is were Aangs thoughts had taken him in the twenty long minutes, and counting, while waiting for Azula. It was rude to eat when a royal was not present. Not to mention, if they did eat without her, Azula would have their heads. Not literally, but close enough.

Aangs fingers drummed impatiently against the table, his eyes fixed on the empty bowl infront of him. Everytime the thought of food crossed his mind, he clutched his stomach under the table. It felt like he hadn't eaten in days. Maybe he hadn't? Who knows. Toph, who sat beside him, let out a long sigh every so often. Her bowl and cutlery had been completely shoved aside in complete Toph fashion, and the space they previously occupied had been replaced with her arms crossed over one another with her chin resting on top of them. Zuko just looked plain awkward sitting at the head of the table furthest from Aang. It looked like he didn't know what to do in his own home. His fingers were lightly wrapped around the neck of the gold chalace -  yeah, more gold -  placed infront of his bowl as he twisted it from left to right in between his fingers. Not very Fire-Lordy behaviour, Sokka thought, though it was probably due to the unadressed tension between him and Aang. Sokka would sometimes scratch his beard, but other than that, he just sat opposite his friend in silence. They would exchange a short look every now and again, and in those short moments Aangs eyes were saying "If I don't eat soon I'll go into the Avatar state." and Sokka's saying "AzulaAzulaAzulaholyshitAzulaisactuallyhere." and then Aang's said "Sokka stop freaking out." and Sokka's would say "How did you... wait, is that an Avatar thing?" and Aang would stare back, his eyes narrow. "Sokka, not everything is an Avatar thing." And Sokka would stare back, his eyes saying "Right. Sorry." stopping the soundless conversation they were having. Until it happened again. Meanwhile, Katara picked her nails nervously. Obviously, word got out to her about Azula and she looked scared. For a moment, Aangs fingers stopped drumming and he watched her. Something in him wanted to comfort her, but he pushed it away and stared back at the bowl, his fingers resuming their perfect rhythm.

"Wine, anyone?" A certain voice called from the west wall entrance, drawing all eyes to it's source: the princess, with her hair fully down wearing a dark maroon gown and black kimono to go with it. She was noticably holding quite a large bottle of red wine. While all eyes were on her, hers were on one persons and one persons alone. 

Aang was the first to break the eye contact.

Then, the thud of a chair caused the woman to tear her eyes from him, only to find her brother, now standing. "You're late." He scolded, hands griping they edge of the table. Azula simply rolled her eyes and slinked towards her seat at the opposite head of the table. 

"Fasionably late." She corrected while slowly placing the wine down on the table. Katara and Sokka watched her carefully, but their faces remained devoid of emotion. She took hold of the chair and struggled slightly while trying to pull it out against the fabric of the carpet, so unbenknownst to everyone, Aang, while keeping his eyes on her, flexed his wrist manouvering the air to lift the chair slightly allowying her to slide the chair back with ease. She didn't even notice his little action and took her seat without a thought. Soon, Zuko took his seat. 

For a time, everyone was still. Not one muscle was moved as she popped open the cork and began pouring the red liquid into her own glass before noticing everyone watching her. The thought of bending the wine all over her dress passed Katara's mind... no, she didn't want to cause a scene. Not yet anyway. The bottle was placed back on the table with a low thud, her hand still wrapped around it. Aang noticed that her nails were, infact, painted red. He wondered if the Avatar had the authority to ban anything they wanted, like a colour. He was on the verge of formulating the law in his head right now. 

"Well?" Azula looked around and raised a brow to her brother, who stared back; completely unamused. "What are you all waiting for?" She questioned them all, but only looked at Zuko. No one said a word. So with a sigh, she leaned across the setting infront of her to place the corkless bottle as close to the middle of the table as she could. Everyone watched as she sat back in her chair taking a moment to flick a strand of hair away from her eye. No one had ever seen her look so normal, so relaxed, and Zuko couldn't remember the last time he had every seen her act this normal. With the raise of her glass, she gave Zuko a smile. "Eat!"

*****

"That was delicious, thank you." Aang asked one of the servers while taking the last bit od food into his mouth. Usually, the vegetarian options were boring. But this was on another level compared to the usual steamed rice and vegetables. 

"Oh it's one of the chef's specialties! Red cabbage stew!" He stopped chewing. "He will be so happy to hear you enjoyed it!" She smiled brightly at him before moving to pour him some more wine. Aang swallowed the food in one gulp. His mind was filled with questions, like why must everything be red in the Fire nation? Even the cabbages!

To his right, Toph tilted her head back downing the rest of the wine from her cup before setting it down with a loud thud that caused the cutlery to rattle. All eyes were wide as they watched her lean back in her chair, hands behind her head and no doubt her legs outstretched under the table. "So, Azula," She began, opaque green eyes staring at the ceiling while everyone around her, especially Aang, listened with anticipation. Azula set down her cutlery and leaned forward, eagerly waiting for what the earthbender would say. Toph never really knows how to keep things to herself. Well, she knows how to, she just chooses not to. "what's it feel like to be crazy?"

Zuko spat out his wine. Katara covered her mouth to hide the laugh. Sokka tried to actually hide, sliding down the chair.  Aang scolded her. Though Azula... remained the same. Toph scowled at Aangs voice.

"What!" Her hands moved from behind her head to be raised in defense. "She is!" Azula was calm, both of her arms on the chairs arm rests while a fuss was being made over Toph and her bluntness.

Azula ignored the fuss and sighed. "Was." She corrected with a smile and traced the carvings on the chair with her pointed nail absentmindedly. They all watched her, shocked that she hadn't lit the whole room up in a second. Blue would have been a nice contrast to all the red, Aang mused. Though, If not that, they were all surprised she hadn't challenged Toph in any way. Not even with a snappy remark. Just a simple correction. Zuko, on the other hand, was surprised by the fact she had admitted to it. To being insane. Azula didn't know why she answered at all. In a part of her mind, she admitted that it felt good to let it out... and let it go. But she would never admit to that out loud. "And in terms of how it felt. At the time, it flet normal." Something in her tone changed as she continued. She bowed her head and brought the chalace to her lips, taking a small sip. Aang looked towards her and suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of sympathy for the woman. Being raised in the way that she was, with a toxic and abusive father and a mother who was actually afraid of her, there was always a higher probability for Azula to be unlike others; to go insane at some point in her life. Then it dawned on him: she had been in that asylum since she was fourteen. She now sat before them as a grown, twenty-year-old woman. 

Aang found himself wanting to know more. So did the rest of them. She looked at him for a split second to gague his reaction, but looked back to the bowl infront of her with a distant stare before he even noticed. 

"Thinking back now, being in that state and not knowing that what I was seeing wasn't real, it was terrifying." Her eyebrows ever so slightly knit together as she remembered the times visions of her mother tormented her with love rather than the hate Azula had always believed; her mind drifted to when hallucinations of Ozai tortured her for her failure, for the disgrace she brought upon the Fire Nation... and the disgrace she brought upon herself. But as the years passed, her mental state gradually improved.

"You can't use that as an excuse for what you did during the war." Katara said suddenly. Her input into this conversation was not expected. So when she spoke, all eyes turned to her. She simply kept her eyes down in annoyance. 

Azula tilted her head in such a threatening way that even Zuko was a little wary of her. Aang noticed her hands griping the arms of the chair tighter and the silence went on for another moment, but then she raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?" Her voice was challenging and cold while Katara ignorantly kept her head down, blatantly ignoring the princessess presence.

"I was there. You may have been corrupted and manipulated by your father when you struck Aang, but you weren't insane." Katara said clearly. No break in her voice. No pause. She knew exactly what she was saying, and Azula dug her nails harder into the wood as she listened. "You killed him. And you were happy about it." Her head shot up suddenly to look her in the eye. "So don't attempt to win us over with your plead to insanity because it won't work, Azula. You are a horrible person. Always have been, and no doubt, always will be."

Aang was speechless. So was everyone else. Not a sound cut the silence as the princess clenched her jaw, anger rising in her with the heat of a thousand suns while Katara stared back, her face blank. No one could believe what just happened, and Aang's head was a blizzard of emotions since Katara was right. He didn't know what he was thinking, allowing himself to see past the bad... almost forgiving Azula for taking his life. Until Katara saved him, that is. He was at a crossroads now in the middle of a room filled with people. Only for Zuko's voice was Aang brought back to the present. "I think we should all call it a night-" 

Azulas hands slammed on the table and she stood to her feet. "No! We will not call it a night!" Now, it was Zuko who was in a staring match with the princess; one he would most likely lose. "Not after that peasant insulted me in my own home-" Aang had to intervene.

"Do not undermine her, Azula, I have warned you before." Katara looked up at him, glad that he defended her. Three were on their feet. The Avatar. The princess. And as of now, the Fire Lord.

"-Oh please-" She rolled her head with a scoff and Katara watched intently, trying to figure out why she seemed to mean more with that simple phrase than was obvious. Toph, compared to Sokka and Katara, was smiling with glee. She didn't have a clue her question would fire up this kind of quality entertainment!

"Aang," Zuko held a hand out to the man in a gentle gesture. Aang looked at his hand and back up to his face in dibelief. "don't get involved."

The irony! Aang couldn't help but laugh. "Don't get involved?" Zuko looked back to Azula and scolded himself for his poor choice of words.

 Then Azula's hands slammed on the table for the second time and both men looked her way. "Both of you need to sit down! She just affronted me in my own home!" 

Katara got to her feet. "It's what you deserve!" She fought back with a voice teetering on the edge of overcoming Azula's with power and her head snapped towards Katara with rage. Sokka tried to cool her down, standing to her side with a hand on her shoulder, but his sister resisted her brothers plea.

"And I suppose you deserve more than I do, hm?" She snapped. Kataras face contorted in anger and her hand redied at the water pouch at her hip. Aang and Sokka exchanged a glance fearing that this dispute was about turn physical. 

"Enough!" Aang demanded, but he was ignored as the princesses laughter filled the room.

"I mean, of course you deserve more than me! You only abused the Avatars trust in you!-" Aangs eyes widened. Toph sat up, panic rising in her chest. Zukos head turned to Aang, and Sokka stiffened. 

"I said, enough!" Aang screamed louder than he ever had and sent his fists crashing down on to the table and with a snap, it broke in two. Plates and bowls crashed together, candles toppled and blew out with the force at which they fell, thankfully not setting anything a light. His head hung low, unable to remember a time his strength had gotten the better of him like that. But he knew why.

Azula stood to the left of Aang and her eyes never left him as the steady rise and fall of his chest continued at a fast pace, his eyes shut tight and his fists clenched. Katara glared at the princess with a hand over her mouth, the tears welling in her eyes.

It had dawned on her that Aang knew.

*****

So it was out. Azula had pushed right to the edge and now Katara knew the truth. Aang had found out.

For Sokka and Aang, it was a lot sooner than expected. And a lot sooner than they wanted.

As she stood across the way, her hand covering her mouth and the tears traiing down her cheaks, she watched him with a pain in her chest. He looked defeated to her, and she wasn’t wrong. He felt just that. The sheer fact that Aang acted so quickly in anger without a thought did defeat him, and the evidence of it was in front of him in two pieces. This was so far from his natural character that he was ashamed to be around them. The thoughts swirling in his mind told him to get out, and that is what he decided to do. So he backed away with the shake of his head. Right now was not the time to have that conversation with Katara, so he needed to leave. He should have known Azula would use it against Katara during their dispute. But he didn't, and there is nothing he can do about that fact now.

"Aang... I can explain-" Her voice trembled as she failed to hold the tears back as he avoided her, like he couldn't look at her, and turned his face away.

"Not now, Katara." He grimaced, feeling the need to clear his throat. Just then in the silence, guards came charging into the room, but they stopped at the lack of violence; which was what they had expected to see. Instead they looked at the Avatar who soon acknowleged their presence with the lift of his head. "I'll pay for the damages." He stated, and with a sure nod from one of the guards, it was Aangs time to leave. He avoided eye contact with any of them. It was a hostility that they, excluding Azula, weren't used to from Aang. Though Azula had always suspected he would be the perfect peacekeeper she almost smiled at the Irony: while trying to keep the peace, Aang was aggressive. 

On his way past the princess, her hand lightly gripped his robe, stopping him from moving past her. Maybe she wanted him to stay, or maybe that was her way of apologising, he wasn't quite sure. But he knew that if Azula hadn't said what she did, the event prior to this moment would have played out very differently. Now, he was shoulder to shoulder with her, standing on the spot. Her hand was still clasped tightly around the orange fabric of his robes. To her, he seemed a lot taller than she remembered.

Aang looked down at her, his head turned to the right and the same with hers, only Azula had to look up. "I don't know what you're doing," He hissed under his breath. "but if you don't stop," He leaned closer. Threateningly close. "I'll make you."  He ripped the fabric from her grasp and left without another word.

~


	3. Chapter 3

"I swear to you, Katara, I didn't say a word." 

"Well how did he find out then! How, Zuko!" She got the words out through broken sobs. Toph listened and in all honesty, she wanted to slap her. She seemed to be more upset about the fact Aang found out than she was about actually going behind his back when he trusted her.

"I don't know? Ask him!" Zuko gestured to where Aang had left, his temper getting the better of him like it frequently did. "All I know is that Aang knew when he got here." Her head shot up at this.

"Wait, how did he-" She stared wide eyed at her lover, the confusion she already felt settling deeper inside her. Sokka took a breath.

"Katara-" She jumped at his hand resting on her shoulder all of a sudden.

On edge, she shrugged it away. "Not now, Sokka!" She blocked her brother out. Or tried to, turning to face the Fire Lord once more. But he persevered.

"Katara listen to me-" His voice a little louder than before making her snap her head up to him, dragging her finger from her mouth: the nail had been chewed down as far as possible. At the same time, behind the haze of panic, Zuko stared at Sokka. He decided, then and there, that it was him who spilled the beans. It couldn't have been Toph. At the same time, Sokka was looking far to guilty for Zuko's liking. 

"Look, I don't mean to be rude but-" Katara interupted with a monotone voice, but somehow it was filled to the brim with emotion. Until she was cut off.

 _"I_ told him! Just stop, okay?" He held both of her shoulders now, making her face him completely. She couldn't escape. 

Her eyebrows knit together and her mouth hung open for a second. Sokka just watched her, almost with regret. _Almost._ "... You what?" She breathed, unable to comprehend what her brother was telling her. The panic that filled her veins now morphed into anger and down right confusion as to how her brother knew.

"I was suspicious for a while... and yesterday, when we were setting up camp, I found... a scroll." Her eyes widened as Sokka dropped his hands to his side. The invasion of her privacy made Katara feel sick. She knew exactly what scroll he was refering to. "I'm sorry katara but I couldn't keep it to myself. I had to show him, I'm sorry-"

"But... but I'm your sister!" She channeled the anger she felt and directed it to him. Her words were nearly incomprehendable, but Sokka heard her. She still didn't seem to understand the impact her action had, and she seemed to have forgotten who Aang was and how close him and her brother had become. She just assumed that he would have taken her side because of their blood connection. Sokka shut his eyes.

"And _he's_ my best fr-" He hadn't even finished. Boiling with fury, she slapped him. His head snapped to the side with the sheer strength of her palm against the side of his face. The sound bounced off the walls and the skin her palm had made contact with reddened instantly. Only for the anger inside her now, the slap wouldn't have been nearly as impressive. Even Tophs jaw dropped. Zuko didn't really know how to react, so he watched silently as Sokka raised a hand to his cheek, until he felt a familiar hand wrap around his wrist with an iron grip. Using all her strength, and without another word, she stormed off, dragging him with her.

The sight wasn't one Sokka liked at all. It wasn't one Toph liked either.

"Katara-" He tried to stop her, starting in her direction but she charged on.

"Don't!" She cut him off, and simultaneously, so did Azula, who everyone seemed to forget about, with a hard arm across his middle. The shock of her arm against him hit first, and he looked down at her arm and then up to her face. She just shook her head.

"Let her go." Azula spoke in a low whisper, but Sokka wasn't going to let her go without an explanation. Sometimes, Katara had to be told why a person did what they did. Despite the fact the reason was obvious, she was too stubborn to admit to it without someone speaking the words out loud. This was the case presently. He had to tell her, even though she was smart enough to know, why he had chosen his friend over his family.

"I can't defend you when you're wrong! _You_ hurt _him,_ Katara, he didn't hurt you. Think about it." He called out in a last minute attempt to defend his actions, but he still couldn't help feeling bad. She dissappeared, and he thought she may not have listened. But she did. She heard every word; and he was right.

Azula stepped back from him, her arms now folded. She watched him rub his eyes with a groan, attempting to rid the tension from his body. This was no typical family dispute that would blow over in a few days, it effected everyone in their group. Even Azula was a part of this, now, who never even passed his mind when he found out about Zuko and Kataras behind closed doors relationship. Thinking back to the dinner, he had a feeling in his gut that Azula would take Aangs side: also something he never believed possible since Ba Sing Se. Not just because she didn't particularly like Katara, but he had noticed Aang's unwavering attention when she spoke, the quick glances he gave her; ones so quick that Aang probably believed they would go unnoticed. He noticed her wandering eyes finding Aang in moments of quiet around the table. But he didn't want to think about it, because for some reason, the idea of them didn't seem as far fetched as it should.

"I'm gonna give that girl a piece of my mind-" Toph stomped her way across the room, pushing up the sleeves of her tunic as she went with fierce steps. But he stepped infront of her.

"No way." He demanded. No matter what, he would never let an angry Toph near his sister. 

"Yes way!" She stretched out an arm, clenched her fist, and swiped to the right, moving the earthen floor with the movement and taking Sokka with it, clearing a path for her. "Just watch me-" She stomped on and he turned quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. She was getting on his nerves a little.

"No, Toph! Stop." His voice raised a lot higher than he anticipated. Sokka wasn't really one to lose his temper much, so she listened. They stared. One pair blue and the other opaque green, until the sightless girl admitted defeat with a huff, clenched fists by her sides.

 _"Whatever."_ She crossed her arms and slumped into the princesses initial seat, who now stood across from them looking confident and self assured, not really knowing what to say or do in the presence of past enemies.

There was a moment of silence. An awkward one. Toph angry at Sokka, Sokka angry at... well, everything really, and Azula in a state of indifference.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Zuko seemed really regretful over the whole thing." Above everyones expectations, she was the first to speak. "I heard him and Aang this morning, and Aang wasn't happy, to say the least." She chuckled. "I doubt any of us would be. No one can blame him." Her arms were crossed over her chest again and Sokka looked up to her golden eyes. What she said had meaning, but if you watched her while she was speaking, you would think otherwise. There was no emotion there. Just a straight expression. But her words _were_ sincere, relevent, and her judgement was exactly correct. Azula may have a twisted mind, but she is a genius. With a sigh, she looked to the broken table opposite, and then back to Sokka. "You should talk to them." He slumped. Why him? "I'm going to get a drink." And in a matter of seconds, she turned on her heal and left with voluptuous strides. Strides Sokka tried not to notice. He had expected her company to be horrible, filled with judging glances and snappy remarks, but somehow, and against all odds, she had been the opposite. It would take some getting used to though, Sokka wouldn't lie. He was still wary of her and vowed to keep his distance. Maybe with a furtive glance here or there... she was a sight for sore eyes.

"I like her." Toph mutered, a smile on her lips and instantly Sokka scoffed, turning to face her.

"Of course _you_ do."

*****

"Aang!" Sokka walked, or ran, after the Avatar, his orange robe waving behind him with the speed of his strides. They were in the west wing of the palace, or the mens wing, to be more specific.

"Yeah?" His voice was dry as he turned to look at his friend. Since the invite arrived informing Aang he was required to travel to the Fire Nation, he never suspected such a stressful turn of events. The endless attention from his friends, and other people, like Azula, just added to that, so he was understandibly reluctant to have _another_ long conversation.

"Listen, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for telling Toph and-"

"Look, Sokka," He stopped him with a hand out stretched, his eyebrows furrowed. All Aang wanted right now was to be alone, so he wasn't going to stand here and let Sokka pour his heart out over something that doesn't really matter that much. Not anymore. It's in the past. "Whatever it is, I forgive you." Sokka closed his mouth and decided to listen. "I just want this whole thing to be over. I honestly wasn't expecting it today. I was expecting a week, at least. But Azula does what she pleases, if you haven't noticed." He laughed a bit. Everything did seem to happen too fast to keep up with it. "So, now that it's out in the open, I just want to try my best to move on, okay?" Aang sighed, a hand ready on his room door, and he was happy to see Sokka nod.

"Of course. No, I'll be outa your hair- or, you know what I mean." He chuckled and Aang grinned back at his friend who seemed a lot calmer than he did initially.

"Get some sleep. I think we all need it." He pushed the door lightly, watching Sokka who turned with a nod- until he remembered something, one foot over the threshhold and turning partially to see his friends back. "Just one thing," Aang stopped him.

"Uh, sure, what is it?" He turned, folding his arms over his chest watching Aang in anticipation.

"If you're gonna talk to anyone right now, talk to Katara." The mans eyebrows furrowed at this. She's the one who done the deed... and yet, Aang worried about her. "No matter what, she's your family; basically the only family you have left." His eyes were persuasive and so too were his words, and so with a quick glance around the hall, Sokka laid out his reluctant agreement on a silver platter for the Avatar. Even though he didn't like to admit it, Sokka wouldn't be able to hold a grudge against her. So he nodded, his bottom lip between his teeth. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable.

"Yeah, I will." And he turned on his heal, just catching the Avatars brief smile. "G'night, Aang." He waved, his back now to his friend.

"Goodnight, Sokka." Aang let a slow breath out through his mouth and entered his room, closing the door gently behind him. Once away from seeing eyes, Aang gulped, his palm flat against the wood. Losing any control he had, his face contorted and he tried to hold back the tears. With a quiet thud, his forehead leaned against the door, bottom lip between his teeth. Aang was surprised he couldn't taste blood yet. Water gathered in his eyes as he pushed harder against the door and bit harder on his lip as the anger he felt passed, and grief took it's place. With all his might he tried, but he wasn't strong enough to stop the pain from flooding in.

It baffled the Water Tribe man that despite everything, Aang still cared for her first. He wished the best for her, and always would. So following Aangs' advice, or rather, request, in Kataras' favour, he made a beeline straight for her room. Expectantly, it was quite a long walk. He had to actually go down to the lobby and across to the east wing. Although the sword master didn't like to admit, he found it hard to catch his breath after two flights of stairs. But finally, he arrived.

Raising a fist to the wood of the door, he hesitated.

Did he really want to do this? She'll probably send him away with a water whip to the face. But like Aang said, she's family. Following that thought, he took a deep breath, and knocked.

*****

The firebender in him allowed Aang to stand in the cool breeze without a bother. The moon was full and high in the sky. He could feel the power it granted, the urge to waterbend more powerful than any other day. Aang never really thought about the power he held, but it was times like these that he really came to appreciate his ability.

Out of sheer boredom he raised his hand and swiped through the air, pulling water out of nowhere, standing at the railing of his personal balcony. Having all four of the elements at his beckon call was quite amusing, if you could put it that way. So standing here at such a late hour with no one around opened the opportunity to have a little fun. Watching as the sphere of water grew in size, anothere swipe of his hand brought up fragments of earth that not orbited the sphere, almost like a planet.

Before he could add another ring, one of fire this time, the distant creak of the door caught his attention and he released the elements from his command, sending them into a free-fall, cutting through the air and hitting the ground far below. Turning his head, Aang found her standing by the open door. Without even trying to hide his dissinterest, he let out a loud sigh turing back around swiftly, leaning forward on the railing again. His arms crossed over one another strongly. He listened to her steps, slow and timid, as she crossed his room to where he currently stood looking over the palace grounds, and his eyes began to wander, attempting to filter out the anguish that began to build inside him for the second time tonight.

There was a small pond shaded by a large willow tree close to the centre of the garden that had neatly trimmed hedges lining the perimeter. Rare fire-lilies were spotted among a species of white flower that he didn't recognise. Even from the distance he stood, the delicate ripples disturbing the tranquil pond caught his eye, and drew his attention to a family of turtle ducks.

Aang was only doing this to prepare for the unavoidable as she stopped beside him, following his line of sight.

She took a slow, quiet breath in through her nose, before letting it out through her mouth. An attempt to calm her nerves, he noticed. It was something he taught her when they were together; it was a technique he learnt from monk Gyatso. She eyed the garden, but not with the interest Aang seemed to posess. She had other things on her mind. So she closed her eyes, and composed herself.

"Hey." The girl whispered, despite the endless run-through conversations she had outside Aangs door, still unsure of any other ways to start such a serious conversation. Aang, of course, listened, but didn't look. "The moon is beautiful tonight." She stared down at her hands that were resting gently on the railing, her nerves getting the better of her. The moon was the only thing she cared to notice. Being a waterbender, she couldn't not notice it's beauty and the power it bestowed upon her. He looked down at the ground, shoulders huched and most of his weighed supported by his arms. With her words, he remembered something he'd rather not think about while beginning the conversation that would mark their end. He blinked.

"Yeah," His eyebrows furrowed and Katara watched him as he sighed. "it is." She looked away. Her thoughts went back to a time when Aang would compare her to the moon, and she regretted bringing up it's beauty. That was a time when everything was how it should be. How it could've been. But now, everything was mixed up and, dare they say, off balance.

"I just... I want to apologise, Aang." She began with a sigh, her eyes and head down. From here on out, it would only get worse, and, no matter what, she couldn't look at him. If she did, it would break her. "I'm sorry it happened the way it did. I'm sorry that I abused your trust in me. I never meant for it to happen like that and I only wish I could take it back. I wish I could go back and stop myself." The regret spilled out of her chest taking tears with them, her cheeks were wet as she hastily tried to wipe them away, only spreading the water over her mocha skin instead. So were Aangs', but he let the tears go where they may. He realised that he had blocked the sadness inside him with anger and fury, and as she stood beside him, he refused to build that wall again. He was done fighting. He was done pretending to be strong when he felt weak. The back of his hand was damp as the tears fell from his cheeks, and he did nothing to dry the skin there. They were silent, apart from a shaky breath every so often coming from the girl beside him. He believed her apology, he knew she was a good person and chose to believe that she meant what she said. But Aang wasn't ready to forgive her yet. If he told her he did now, Aang knew deep down, he would be lying. The forgiveness wouldn't be genuine. So he decided instead to ask her the one thing that plagued him through all of this. The one thing he couldn't stand to think about.

"Do you love him?" He asked in the silence marred with quiet sniffs. She turned to look at him and the image before her was heartbreaking. His face contorted into an expression of hurt and sorrow. She noticed the slight glistening of his cheeks in the moonlight and frowned, trying to blink away her own tears, but failing. When she didn't answer he stood up straight, his hands now gripping the railing, but turning his head to find her crying before him. He let out a breath, and tried again. "Do you love him, Katara?"

"I... I think so-" She shook her head, her breath catching in her throat no matter how deep she breathed or how hard she swallowed. Aang's expression loosened as he backed away from the balcony, but didn't relax.

"You think so." He nodded, raising a hand to his mouth and pulling at his lip, eyes shut in thought. Or maybe in frustration. It seemed like the latter as he breathed through his nose in long, steady breaths. She watched him curiously. His eyes opened to meet hers again and his stare was hard. "Did you love me?" Her eyes widened.

"Of course I loved you, Aang! I- I still do!" She walked closer to him and reached for his arms. The way he was breathing made her nervous so she tried to calm him down, but he pulled his arms from her.

"What stopped you, then?" She listened as he looked down at her, a scowl on her face.

"What do you... stopped me _when?-"_ He shook his head.

"You said you think you love Zuko and yet you jumped right into bed with him, Katara, what stopped you when you were in love with me? When I was in love with you?" His eyes never left hers. It was a question that had been on his mind since he read that scroll. Katara didn't have an answer. She didn't know. All she knew was that Zuko had what she wanted in that moment. She had always wanted Aang in that way too, and she hated to admit that even now, she felt the same attraction towards him. But when they were together, she cared more about her morals than anything. They over ruled any desire she felt towards Aang. Then, what happened with Zuko, all she could think was morals be damned. He was the more she craved in that moment. Zuko challenged her to challenge herself. She did, and he brought something out in her she never even knew existed. He made her feel... rebelious. Unstoppable. Zuko lured her to him without knowing it. And Aang was doing the same.

Right now.

Was it wrong to love them both? Was it even possible? Her mind was once clouded by morals, and was now controlled by desire. By passion. By a drive inside her so powerful it would draw her to anyone. 

"I used to think morals were everything Aang, but now I know they mean nothing. That's all I can tell you." In the most selfish depths of her mind, she believed that after Zuko, Aang and her would have taken that step. As long as he didn't find out about Zuko and her, though. Even now, that thought disturbs her. It was like something in her had changed after that day with Zuko. Something in her was awakened. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Do you hear yourself right now?" He frowned. But in some twisted way, though he refused to admit, he... related, to what she was saying. For the short amount of time Aang had spent with Azula, she made him question every belief he had. And the worst part was, Aang didn't even think she knew what she was doing. 

"I'm telling you the truth." She replied. They faced eachother. Watching him now as he stood before her in only a robe... something stirred within her. It was wrong to think this way, standing in the crisp air with tear stained cheeks. But the fact it was wrong, made it feel so _right._

"Why wasn't I enough, Katara?" He whispered and the air stilled. They faced eachother, the moonlight flooding the balcony on which they stood. She shook her head slowly, her expression sad and apologetic. Blue eyes locked on grey and she moved closer to him; his expression was solemn but his eyes never left hers. Even when she raised her hands to cup his face.

"You _were_ enough, I just couldn't see it until now." His eyebrows knit together as she pulled him down, but he didn’t exactly fight it, and their lips met. A million thoughts swirled in his mind but all he could think about was the feel of her lips pressed against his. Like nothing ever happened. It was one of undying love and compassion, though he noticed the hungry way she gripped his neck, the way her fingers dug into the flesh there, that told him lust would take over. She moved closer still, their lips never parting and her body flush against his, but only through her own effort. Aangs hands remained still in the air, hesitant to take the bait, but after a moment of hesitance, he brought his hands to her waist and she smiled against his lips. Her hand moved to his neck as her tongue brushed against his lip and, without a thought this time, he answered her silent request, his tongue caressing hers as he held onto her waist tighter. The kiss only deepened and the conversation they just had turned to a distant memory as she lured him in like a siren. They found themselves fighting for breath as their movements became hastier, needier, and overall, more lust fueled.

It was like they were making up for lost time as her hands travelled to his shoulders and she pressed down. Instinctively, he lifted her with ease like he had many times before. But this time, her legs wrapped tighter around his waist, she pulled his hips closer than ever before, begging for him in a way she never had when they were together. There was a doubt in the back of Aangs mind, but he couldn't stop what he was doing. For so long he had wanted to take their relationship to the next level, but her morals didn't allow it. This time however, their relationship over and their beliefs being challenged by Fire Nation Royals, Katara was the one who wanted him more. She was the one who made the first move; her actions deliberate, asking for one thing and one thing only. A mixture of love for Aang and lust for the thought of taking him drove her to act this way. All she knew was that she wanted him. All of him. In the heat of it all, her back was pushed against the wall and her hands fumbled to tear away the robe that graced the Avatars impeccable physique. His lips pressed against her neck, the faint scent of lavender invading the air and only strengtheining his urges in this moment. With delicate fingers and a strong grip she pulled him to her once again, the kiss nothing but needy and messy. Every now and then she would let out a strangled moan, teasing Aang as her nails raked up his back. As her _nails... harshly dug into his skin..._

 _Azula._  

He craved the rake of _Azula's _nails across his skin and the provocative way she spoke. He wanted to tame _her._ He wanted Azula because she was the more he craved. So how, in this moment, was Katara representing what he wanted? This wasn't Katara, that's why. Katara would have never acted this way if they were together. If she never gave herself to Zuko, they wouldn't have come this close. She was like a different person. __

__On a different day, on a day that didn't follow her betrayal, maybe this side to Katara would have been a good thing. Maybe Aang would have been able to follow through with her demanding request? This wasn't the case, though, since Aang _couldn't_ forget. He couldn't over look her actions with another man that _led _to this behaviour. Only for Zuko, this would never have happened in the way it did. It would have been softer, more loving and completely pure and with the best intentions. Not the intentions of lust. Even though he was enjoying himself, he couldn't stop imagining the two of them... he couldn't ignore the fact one lust filled night with Katara now would lead to nothing, and ultimately brand him to be just as bad as Zuko. It wouldn't push aside her feelings for him. It wouldn't cause her to fall out of love with Zuko. Aang didn't want to do this when he was thinking of her, and she was probably thinking of Zuko.___ _

____Aang abrubtly stopped the kiss. Their panting filled the air and as she leaned forward to catch his lips again, but he dodged her. "What's wrong?" She questioned, her breath eradicated as he let her down._ _ _ _

____"I can't." He stated, evening out his breathing and pulling the robe tight around his torso. "I just, I can't." He turned away, leaving her confused and almost upset. "You should go, Katara."_ _ _ _

____They stood. An awkward silence looming over them. He didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do. It _was_ probably best for her to leave, Katara thought to herself. But she wouldn't leave the air like this. "Aang?"_ _ _ _

____He turned, his arms crossed tight over his chest. She was determined not to look away from his eyes, no matter how much the tension tried to divert her gaze. Preparing herself, she took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly._ _ _ _

____"I love you." She blinked, her expression sorrowful. She was telling the truth, but what she did just now proved she loved another. His eyebrows furrowed, confused but heartbroken, not at all expecting the three words she just uttered, but knowing exactly why they came from her lips. "Never forget that." Biting her lip, she averted her gaze from his sorrowful stare, and with hasty steps, she left him alone. He didn't follow. He didn't move from the spot where he stood at this time, because what just happened was a goodbye. An official goodbye. And it came crashing down on him with a force stronger than gravity. Why was it that now it hurt more than the first time?_ _ _ _

____It hurt more now because the scroll was not Aangs primary source of evidence; Katara's words were. Her stare was. Her tears were. Her spontaeneous act was. There was no room for doubt in Aangs' mind anymore._ _ _ _

____Katara dissappeared from his room and his space as quick as she had arrived and invaded it. There was a nagging deep in her chest that she had made a massive mistake, and mere seconds after her foot passed the threshold she dropped to her knees, sobs breaking out of her throat taking the breath from her lungs. She regretted it. She wished she could turn back time again. She had completely disregarded Zuko and almost made the same mistake. The girl wished she had gone about it differently. For now, the love in her heart ached more for Aang than the lust in her heart yearned for Zuko._ _ _ _

____It was an ache that would never heal. And it was then that she began to second guess everything._ _ _ _

____*****_ _ _ _

____He knocked again._ _ _ _

____"Hello? Katara?" No answer. A thought crossed his mind. One he'd rather forget. _Maybe she was with Zuko.__ _ _ _

____He pushed that thought away with the shake of his head, and knocked again. "Anyone home?"_ _ _ _

____"Sugar queen aint there." Toph exclaimed, leaning on her door frame with a blank expression, embarrassingly for Sokka, making him jump._ _ _ _

____"Shit, Toph! Where did you come from?" He tried to regulate his breathing, annoyance flooding his features. She pointed a thumb behind her._ _ _ _

____"Uh, my room?" Sokka stared back at her with a look he was glad she couldn't see. They just stood in silence._ _ _ _

____"Well?" His hands raised in question to the cocky earthbender who looked all too relaxed after the events that unfolded earlier that night._ _ _ _

____"Well what?" He rolled his eyes._ _ _ _

____"Why isn't Katara in her room?" His voice was monotone. Her features were hard like stone. But her body language was slack and uncaring._ _ _ _

____"Oh, 'cause she left to go see twinkletoes." Her words followed by a puff of air blowing her raven hair off her face. Sokka's posture slumped. How didn't he pass her? Is there some secret passage here or something? Maybe he should ask Toph, I mean she would know, right? No, don't be stupid, he thought to himself. Toph would never tell him._ _ _ _

____"You sure?" He sighed, only to be given a sharp nod._ _ _ _

____"Yup." He felt kinda bad. Aang wanted to be alone, but little did he know, the _real_ conversation was just about to happen._ _ _ _

____Unbeknownst to Sokka, It was already happening. And more._ _ _ _

____*****_ _ _ _

____One, small, amber flame kept the middle of his study from being flooded by darkness like the rest had. Like his mind had. A random scroll was unfolded infront of him. It didn't really matter what the words across it read, because it was only a prop. Something to present him as a busy man. Elbows atop the table and hands clasped under his chin, he stared deeper into the abyss that surrounded this comfort blanket of orange eminating from the flame._ _ _ _

____Until it went out, plunging the Fire Lord into black. Not for long, though, as it was replaced._ _ _ _

____With blue._ _ _ _

____Her footsteps rained down upon the tiled floor like thunder. And lightning. "What's got you down, brother?" Azula immerged from the shadows, but Zuko didn't acknowlege her at all. Her mouth formed a pout and her voice was as patronising as the moon was full. She kept walking, eyes burning a hole into his back. "I am wondering how you're managing to act the victim here, Zuko." She openly criticised. Something he noticed was the tinge of anger in her voice. She rarely let her emotions show, so Zuko was able to pick up on even the smallest flicker of humanity in his sister while she spoke. Why she seemed to care made no sense to him, and so as she stood infront of him, palms down on the table, he rose._ _ _ _

____"And I am wondering why you seem to care so much." He glared at her, hands mirroring hers, and waiting. But she didn't crack. Azula never did- save that one time, she thought, with the Avatar._ _ _ _

____Shrugging, she smiled. "What can I say, Zuzu? I'm bored." The flame grew brighter, blue dominating the darkness, just like Azula dominated everything around her. "After so long in that cell, you'd feel the same." Her words were really edging on anger now, but she fought not to cross that line, hiding as much emotion as she could. Though, Zuko could sense it._ _ _ _

____So he tilted his head. "You're bored?" He repeated and she narrowed her gaze, the gold of her eyes complimenting the azure highlighting her cold, hard, features. "Does this boredom also explain your sudden interest in the Avatar?" His mouth in a hard line and an eyebrow raised. Azula scoffed. Her hands pushed hard against the table as she leaned forward, her resolve stronger and her voice harder._ _ _ _

____"Oh, _Zuko._ Always so narrow minded." He bit down on his cheek as she tilted her head, feeling his own anger threaten to spill out. "Is it really so hard for you to believe that my actions don't have an alterior motive?" _ _ _ _

____"Yes." He admitted. "It is." And she gasped. A hand on her heart and a pained expression on her face. An act, of course._ _ _ _

____"I'm hurt, Zuzu, I really am. I'm simply looking out for my _friend!"_ A smirk ghosted her lips as she stressed the last word. Friend... she mused. Maybe for now, but what the princess had in mind for Aang happened between two people who were far more than just friends. Zuko watched her with disgust as her eyes darkened._ _ _ _

____"I don't believe you." He stated simply. Nothing was ever straight forward with the princess._ _ _ _

____She nodded slowly. "You're right not to." Her voice formal, almost like a teacher commending a student for following the rules. "What is it they say? Azula... always...?" She urged him on with a hand, directing him to finish the phrase. The phrase Zuko used to live by._ _ _ _

____"Azula always lies." He sighed, and the corner of her mouth dragged up into a smirk._ _ _ _

____"Correct." She paused, looking up in thought. "Or _maybe_ it's incorrect? Well I guess you'll never know." She shook it off, her eyes boring into his. The way she stared was calculating. She knew how to get to him. Always has and always will. Meanwhile, her face was unreadable to him. Like a blank canvas yet to be touched with the stroke of a brush. She gave nothing away, not even with her eyes, and she leaned forward again, unmoving. "I could be lying."  
~_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so some of you probably noticed this chapter was a bit late... and the only explanation I have is that I have really important exams coming up. I really need to study.
> 
> Like me, you're probably thinking "Why start writing a story when you know you wont have time to update for a month?" and my answer is I DON'T KNOW.
> 
> But I promise, this month of hardcore revision and important exams is obviously not marking the end of this extremely premature story. Because i feel completely invested already. I'll still be writing and trying my best but if i don't update for the month of may, you know why. 
> 
> Announcment over!


	4. Chapter 4

_Four days later._

Stiff, tight, and stress-drenched muscles weighed down on the mattress with the intent not to move. It was as if they were bound to the bed by leather cuffs pressed to his skin with the help of polished, metal buckles. Of course, they weren’t, but nights like these - nights were sleep evaded him - Aang could _swear_ the rotten creak of the leather was real and not a figment of his imagination. He knew for definite they weren’t there when he tore his glazed eyes from the ceiling and sat right up _without_ the resistance he expected to feel, having to wait a moment for the room to stop spinning. The sound of exhaustion was a raw throaty groan that spilled from his lips now, his head in his weary hands.

It was like the invasion all over again. Except this time, it wasn’t the Fire Lord who lurked in his mind like a parasite; it was the Fire Lord’s _daughter._

This didn’t make sense, none at all. For it to be her keeping him up tonight, of all people, perplexed him. It almost angered him. No. Not _almost._ It _did_ anger him. And as time passed his fingers dug harder into his scalp; he bit down harder on his jaw; his eyes shut tighter and he rocked when the image of her stayed. When the image of her didn’t go away despite every demand he made to think of black. 

_Oh…_ but he thought of black all right; he thought of the silk black tresses that gracefully framed her porcelain face. He thought of her plump lips that only dare utter words that intend to tease and torment. He thought of her golden eyes that sparkled even in the dark of night, he thought of her _luxurious_ body, her clawed nails, her never ending legs, her skin against his, her breath against his ear. The sheer perfection of it all: the perfection of _her._ She was utterly _intoxicating;_ so much so, she had a hold over him after only a few days.

“GET OUT!” He demanded, clutching his head, heals digging into the mattress with force enough to leave a hole. But she stood her ground, staring _right at him,_ and it took every single thread of will he had for him not set the room ablaze. Somewhere he thought she might be clamped to his conscious tight enough to turn his own fire blue – like hers. Never mind, though. He wouldn’t find out if that fact were true tonight. Finding a distraction was the only thing he would focus on, and so he swung his legs off of the bed and stood to his feet. The cold of the floor beneath his feet wasn’t something he anticipated, since it was the middle of summer, but he wasn’t able to pull his feet away no matter how much he hated the cold against his skin. There was something possessing him in this moment, like he didn’t have a say in his actions. Anything he did now wasn’t under his control – like his legs now carrying him to a full-length mirror that he, oddly, didn’t remember having in his room – and he was drawn to stare at his reflection. Although, not so much at his _reflection,_ but into himself. _Weird._ Everything that has happened so far tonight has been weird, freakish, _fantasy like._ But he couldn’t pull his eyes from his own. That's when he finally noticed what he was seeing. _Why_ he couldn’t look away. What he saw was unexplainable, impossible, beyond him. What he saw was gold in place of the usual grey. Not just any gold… but her gold. Fear of the unknown and surreal washed through him at a superhuman speed. This was some kind of sorcery… maybe it was the lack of sleep? A trick of the light! Something! One thing was for sure; what he just saw was _not real,_ it couldn’t be! Aang refused it to be real; he forbade it! He would be damned before he let himself resemble her in _any_ way! Why couldn’t he pull his eyes away? He didn’t want to look anymore so why couldn’t he look away? Why won’t she leave him alone? Aang had free reign over his voice, “Why won’t you leave me alone!” But that was all: paralysed. Like a puppet being controlled by invisible strings. Then:

A laugh, poison to him in this moment, bellowed from behind him, uncomfortably close. The air around him was filled with unease as he searched his brain - trying think of how she got in _here._ In his _room_ That wasn’t possible either. And something told him he would never find out.

“Oh, Avatar…” She chuckled, no doubt a smirk painting her lips. “Who knew I would be your demise?” The princess purred in his ear and his blood ran cold in an instant, still unable to look away from his strange reflection… that he now realised wasn’t his reflection at all. It was _her._ He was _her._ Aang tried to speak but he couldn’t now, his heart beating rapidly out of his chest and the only thing invading the silence was her manic laughter – and the echoed sound of cracking glass. Cracks feeding into another, and into another, until the whole surface shattered and plummeted to the ground like an avalanche, hundreds of pieces falling around him taking the whole room with it, and somehow plunging everything into black. Straight into the abyss where nothing resided: except for her laughter.

With a gasp, he woke up.

*****

“Morning, Zuzu.” The princess chimed, seated quite comfortably at the head of the broken dining table from a few nights before.

“Don’t call me that.” Was his reply, sharp and brisk and demanding, as a Fire Lord should be. All the while, he attempted to take in the unusual sight before him. She simply rolled her eyes.

“Oh, lighten up Zuko. You’re always so formal.” She gave off, her voice ringing in his ears like an incessant bell. Every fibre of his being was tingling with annoyance towards his sister in this moment, _acting like she owns the place. His_ place. All he told himself was that she knew what she was doing. With a calculated mind like Azula’s there was no point in anything less. The discrete tug of her lips into a smirk reminded him of this fact; he mustn’t show the affect she had on him. Meanwhile, she sipped at her tea, innocent as ever. _“Mmh-“_ She grimaced instantly, swallowing the horrid drink with quite a struggle, the cup in hand as though it would burn her perfect flesh if she held it any longer. Again and again she tried to find a place to set the cup, making a show of it, as if the princess didn’t realise where she had sat and that she hadn’t realised the table in front of her had been snapped in two and rendered useless making Zuko scoff instinctively. A stupid and childish way to act. Even a situation as simple as this had been turned into a play purely for her own amusement: _‘Breakfast in the Palace.’_ Or _‘Tea Party in Hell.’_ could be plausible titles. She held the cup out to him, the grimace on her face giving no signs of departure, though he didn’t move an inch. “Take it. I don’t even know why I tried.” Her face the picture of disgust, like any spoilt and pampered princess when they don’t get what they want. “I don’t know how you drink it.”

“You probably made it wrong.” He stated simply, his mind drifting to Iroh and the countless times he taught him the correct way to do it, and her face went blank at his remark with no hesitation. _Shit - that was the wrong thing to say._ Azula is perfect. Azula is _always_ right. Not one flaw marred her existence.

“You really are Iroh’s nephew,” She turned her nose up, like his name was forbidden on her tongue. Come to think of it, it probably was during Ozai’s rain of terror. 

“And you couldn’t possibly be his niece, but somehow you are.” He spoke fluidly for once, and her gaze narrowed. 

“Oh?” Her face conveying _far_ from the emotion her voice did. “Looks like someone finally learned how to stand up for themselves.” She stared, her eyes boring into his with only a pinch of the intimidation she was capable of. Zuko knew this because she had stared him down with more than this. Although, contrary to the usual reaction, he didn’t look away. He didn’t even blink when the scrape of the chair she sat on screeched in his ears, no doubt deliberate on her part with slow and calculating movements. She tilted her head to the side, her whole being a challenge to him as she placed the cup down with the force of a ballerina, delicate and graceful, her lips formed a menacing smile as she did so, and he looked at her hand. There the cup was in her grasp, still full of the warm beverage, and knowing his eyes were watching where she wanted, she let go, the quick grate of porcelain against wood as it slid down the makeshift slope bouncing off the walls, doomed to no other fate but to shatter into a hundred pieces. He watched it, and she watched him. There was more to this than just an act of deviance. There had to be. It was the style of Azula to exaggerate when making a point. Especially when concerning her brother.

“That was unnecessary.” 

“Maybe so.” She sighed, her voice melodic. “Or maybe…” She piped up, as if interrupting herself, with wide eyes as she rounded the table, slowly closing the proximity between them, step by step. “You should note how long it took for me to snap.” Her smile was back, as patronising as ever. One thing Zuko must do in a situation like this is confirm his authority, or try to at least - which he did with a step forward. But in reality, he feared what she may say next. Imagine that, the Fire Lord afraid of his little sister. Younger? Yes. But, little? Not at all. She was giant; too giant for him to handle. This fact only forced him to remember why he took her out of the asylum - it was for a matter too big for him to face alone, one his self-assured sister could handle well; probably with her eyes closed. “Don’t underestimate me, Zuko, or you may face a similar fate.” He blinked, her eyes darting left and right between his own, making sure he heard her loud and clear. “Oh, and get someone to clean this up already.” The grimace returned as she finally, to his relief, backed away, eyes scanning the mess once over. “I mean, what good is a Fire Lord if he doesn’t command others to clean up his own mess?” She shrugged, her lips tugging up into a clearly forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and there was no denying that she meant everything she said. She was speaking from experience, after all. So as she walked away like nothing happened, he took a silent vow to figure out what she was planning, with the awareness that she may not be planning anything at all. You never know with Azula, you can never be hesitant enough around her and so he wouldn’t be. He couldn’t afford not to be careful. 

For his own sake and everyone else’s around him.

*****

Rapid fire blows; one after another and always, without fail, accompanied by an almost pained sound. No one was around to inspect his strange behavior, anyway, so it didn’t really matter. Though, the way he allowed emotion to rule his movements would have been a straight give away. Aang was always precise while bending, but his anger today made him sloppy. 

One after another: water; earth; fire; air. He’d been going at this for hours, firing at nothing in the empty training-grounds. This was the only way he saw fit to burn off some steam; to let out the anger he felt bubbling inside him for more than one reason – for a dream he can’t remember and a face he can’t forget. Katara was barely there anymore; which is what made him so angry. Was he really that horrible as to get over the woman he had loved for a massive part of his life so quickly? To replace her with that of an unstable, manic, manipulative… _gorgeous,_ misunderstood monster, who wasn’t a monster at all, despite her reputation? What if she was- 

FIRE. EARTH. FIRE. AIR. 

No! He was doing it again! He needed to distract himself because that girl- no, that _woman,_ was not right for him; would _never_ be right for him no matter what. 

…And yet every second passed, and the peaceful, quaint blue of water was replaced by the more fierce and fiery azure of-

FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE.

“Get!”  
FIRE.  
“Out!”  
FIRE.  
“Of!”  
FIRE.  
“My!”  
FIRE.  
“HEAD!”

A few panting breathes. A growl of frustration and exhaustion. This was getting dangerous. He was over-working himself completely and for no reason but distraction - tactic that had been good in theory but useless in practice, because it didn't distract him at all. _“Stupid...pointless… damn waste of time...”_ He murmured incoherently to himself, lazily manipulating an air current to lift his orange robes to his hand, but not lazy enough to leave them lying there. He was out of breath, chest and back heaving as he stomped his way back to the palace like a rowdy teenager drunk on hormones. Countless beads of sweat decorated his body and glistened in the flaming sun. The air was humid and the temperature almost too hot to bear, the heavy fabric of his robes proving a challenge for his tired bicep to handle. _Weak,_ he laughed to himself, since when was the Avatar as _weak_ as _this?_ That's when he saw Zuko, standing, or, _waiting_ at the door. _How long for?_ Aang hadn’t the faintest idea. He did feel like he was going to faint in this heat, though. A small part of him wished he would so this interaction wouldn’t have to happen.

“Aang.” Zuko addressed him with a bow, formal as ever. Aang refrained from rolling his eyes and willed himself to stop dead in front of the Fire Lord, no matter how much he wanted to make his escape with a good shoulder nudge along the way. 

“What is it?” Aang questioned him with no formality at all, completely abrupt and straight to the point.

“There’s a meeting scheduled for one today.”

“As well as the one at three?”

“Yes.” Aang couldn’t help but groan. One thing he hated about being who he was was the countless meetings with different people; from Zuko and his magistrates, to the multiple councils from every nation, to Royal audiences with the Earth Kingdom King and Queen and civilian appearances around the globe, to planning for the joined nation – he could go on for hours.

“What time is it now?”

“Close to eleven.” He had to wash up right away then. And eat; he had been too busy to eat breakfast this morning. Busy? More like reckless.

“All right, thank you for letting me know.” He didn’t bother bowing. Not one ounce of his respect was going to be wasted on Zuko any time soon, and he left – or, he went to leave until a hand grabbed his bear shoulder; a little too hard for the Avatars liking.

“I expect you to behave and act accordingly, Aang, certainly better than you have been acting since the other night.” Aang’s eyes narrowed.

“Of course, Fire Lord Zuko, I take your criticism on board. But don’t worry, I won’t ask you to change your childish ways anytime soon.” He shrugged his hand off his shoulder, a fist forming around the robes he held. “I wonder what the council would think if they knew?”

 _“You wouldn’t dare.”_ Zuko stepped up, but Aang still towered over him, fury blurring his sense of self.  
“Wouldn’t I?” He challenged. “I’m not the one who would lose their title and nobility. Think about that, Zuko. I have _nothing_ to lose.” And he turned on the spot, making his exit feeling a lot angrier now than he did when he set foot on the training grounds this morning.

“Empty threats,” Zuko called, but Aang kept walking, it didn’t matter if he knew the threat was empty or believed it was as true as the grass was green because it still got to him either way. Aang simply scoffed without another word, until: “You sound like Azula.”

The Avatar stopped - dead in his tracks - and Zuko knew he shouldn’t have said anything else. He should have left it. He should have kept his fucking mouth shut. Whatever came next, he deserved it. And something was coming. Someone was coming. In the next five seconds, Aangs robes had been discarded and he was storming towards Zuko with a scowl on his face, smoke practically pouring from his nose with every breath. The Avatar moved at a speed alien to any human, too fast for Zuko to react in time, because the next thing he knew, Aangs fist slammed hard against his jaw – 

And everything went black.

*****

Aang wasn’t horrible enough to leave him lying there alone. Sound familiar? He thought the same about his robes. A valid excuse for leaving him would have been along the lines of _‘I was getting ready for the meeting’_ but he couldn't be bothered with that, either. Or maybe it was a fragile shred of his true character, buried under the layer of broken-bastard-who’s-turned-cruel-because-of-fire-nation-scum, influencing his way of thinking. Either way, he couldn’t give a crap whether he stayed or left, so, he sat far enough away from the unconscious Fire Lord so that his possible angry awakening wouldn’t result in Aang getting punched in the face too. Aang was in the process of healing the broken skin across his knuckles, and despite the pain, he remained expressionless. Soon, someone would find them – maybe a servant, Katara, or Azula (his money was on Azula) and he would have to explain the situation. Every minute that went by, he cared less about meaningless affairs like this one to come; granted, there was a meaning behind him knocking out his former friend, but it didn't matter enough to use up valuable energy thinking about it. The slight glow of the water covering his left palm died down as he pulled it away to inspect his (no healed) knuckles before manipulating the water he had taken from the air back into invisible vapor. This was a technique he, and only he, could perform: a combination of the heat he can generate from fire bending and the manipulation of water molecules allows him to do what no one but the Avatar can. There was something selfish about that realisation. Though he never used to indulge in the thought before, Aang was the most powerful man in the world. Looking down at the perfectly healed skin, he reveled in that fact, proud and cocky, with a smile gracing his lips. 

_What has gotten into me?_

“Aang?” Katara was quiet behind him. Of course it was Katara. At least he didn’t bet _actual_ money on Azula. “Zuko…? Zuko!” The sound of her running closer pulled Aang to his feet. She could take his place because there was no chance of him staying with the _happy couple. She had just recently started staying in his rooms. The whole palace knew._

_“No.”_ She grabbed his arm before he could escape, but he didn't care enough to protest. “Explain.” She sounded like a mother. Even a motherless man knew she did. Slowly, he turned to face her with a dry expression, looking her dead in the eye.

“He compared me to his sister.” Her brows instantly furrowed. She wouldn’t admit it, but the whole situation made sense to her after hearing that piece of information, no matter how much she turned the thought over in her head. Even so, it wasn’t like Aang in the slightest to resort to violence. _He’s changed because of what you did… how you hurt him..._

“So you knocked him out?” She shook off the voice in her head and instantly jumped on the defensive. He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He also had to fight the urge to pull his arm from her hands grip: a hand that practically begged for him a few nights ago. That memory made him shiver. _I wonder did she use that hand on Zuko as soon as she laid eyes on him after?_

“Look, I don’t really want to do this right now.”

“Tough luck! Because we’re doing it!”

“I actually have a meeting to get ready for, so if you would excuse me.” A bow of his head and he attempted to turn, but of course she pulled him back, her nails digging into the flesh of his forearm.

“You aren’t going _anywhere,_ so don't even try,” What else did she want him to say, honestly. He was kind of curious to see how far she took this. “You can’t just-”

“Let him go.” To Aangs surprise, the groaning voice that spoke in his favor came from the one and only. Katara shot around to face him, her hair whipping against his chest.

“Zuko!” Aang could see him slowly getting up - a lot sooner than he expected. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” He looked up at Aang, with no vengeance in his stare. “Go.” He said.

“But-” She piped up. It was a lost cause. There was no point. Even Zuko knew there was no feud to be had. He was in the wrong once again, with no corner to fight from.

 _“Katara.”_ Zuko was stern, with his tone and his stare, until her hand finally let go of Aangs arm harshly. She didn’t even turn to watch him go. That was for the better – no one wants an awkward goodbye. Robes in hand and a set of freshly healed knuckles, he ignored everything around him and walked straight to his rooms. He didn’t even attempt to listen to the pairs following conversation.

Aang had a feeling things would only become more hostile between him and Katara. Would they ever truly be friends again? Probably. But he didn’t care at this moment in time. Something was off - something with him. That lone thought was enough to stop him in his tracks. _So it only took a cheating spouse to turn me bad._ He joked to himself. _Bad… Azula would probably like that._

****

The food today was okay. Just okay. Having it outside helped a little because the view was beautiful: that was one thing he loved about coming to the fire nation. Now he sat in the sun again, taking some time to meditate. It was twelve or so and meditation, admittedly, was proving difficult. Quite embarrassing for the supposed gateway to the spirit world. Instead of clearing his mind of all thoughts, Aang found himself complaining about the up-and-coming meetings (which was hard to avoid thinking about with the wooden pendent that hung around his neck and the heavy yellow robes he only wore for things like this) thoughts which led to a certain question: will _she_ be there?

All of this happened, and his position did not change. He was internally fighting with himself to stop finding a reason to think of her no matter the topic. He had been thinking of her _all morning. He had been thinking of her since the moment he laid eyes on her._

Two knocks brought him back, and he opened his eyes.

“Yes?” 

“They’re ready for you.” Came a rich velvet voice, and he froze on the spot, for this voice was from the one who had been tormenting him. The princess.

“Did someone send you?” He got up.

“Maybe.” He turned. And he noticed she was glowing.

“I need to know if they are _actually_ ready, Azula.” She rolled her eyes. He swallowed.

“Why would I lie?” She said. He stared at her, trying his hardest not to look anywhere but her eyes. She on the other hand, didn’t care, and was eyeing him with no subtlety. Seeing him after days of avoidance following his little tantrum was a treat.

“For fun.”

“How and why would lying about your meeting be _fun?”_ He shrugged, still staring at her. They stayed like that for a while, her eyes narrowed, his eyebrow rose. Her gaze wandered, his remained fixed on one point. Until, one of them finally gave up.

“Fine,” She sighed. “I couldn’t give a damn about your stupid meetings.”

“So why lie about it?” He laughed.

“I have nothing better to do.” She sighed, removing her weight from the wall and making her way to him. It took everything in him not to watch her hips.

“Do you at least know what time it is?” She gracefully sat on one of the decking chairs, whereas he remained standing, feeling a little awkward – and a little hot in his robes.

“Half twelve,”

“Fine-”

“I think…” He sighed as she lounged, inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. “Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?” Her eyes found his again.

“I don’t know.”

“Well then… sit.” She nodded to the deck chair opposite, and he eyed it with hesitance, like if he sat there he may never be able to get up again. But sit, he did. “You’re the Avatar. _They_ wait for _you.”_

“Not necessarily. This is your brother we’re talking about.” He finally got comfortable. Why did talking shit about the Fire Lord to his sister feel somewhat _natural?_

“I suppose you’re right.” She suddenly kicked up her feet and his eyes were drawn to the exposed skin of her calves immediately, and she caught him red handed before he hastily looked away, eyes now on the garden. The princess smirked as though she had achieved something great. “Speaking of my brother…” _Oh no._

“Have you two talked much?” She eyed him curiously. Word spreads fast through the palace… she wondered if he would say or not.

“Not really.” He let out a long breath. Did he really want to talk to Azula about knocking out her brother? Then again, she would probably commend him. Of course, Azula already knew what happened. She was just testing him.

“Not really? That could mean a million things, Aang.” Her brows furrowed, acting the part of dumb-fool-who-knows-nothing. 

“Well, it doesn’t.” He prayed she wouldn’t pry.

“Something happened.” But, she did. It pissed the Princess off that he wouldn’t just tell her.

“Nothing happened.”

“You’re lying. You may have many talents, but lying isn’t one of them.”

“How can you possibly tell?”

“Because I’m a _perfect_ liar.” He rolled his eyes. “Now tell me what happened or I’ll shoot.” She raised her hand, fore and middle finger pointed right at him, and he eyed them suspiciously.

_“You wouldn’t.”_

“Oh, I would.” She stood.

“Go right ahead then.” He stood.

“Are you sure?” She challenged, finally getting angry at his behavior. “I’m a lot stronger than the fourteen-year-old you fought back then.”

“And I’m a lot stronger than I used to be. We've both grown.” He fought back, hands raised and feet planted.

“I find that hard to believe, Avatar.” Mocking as usual.

“Try me.” He muttered, a face of stone and a voice of fire.

But before she could begin, a face of fury, he moved in the way she had been taught at such a young age… and he performed perfectly. Lightening illuminated his features as he controlled the element with more grace than she had ever been able to achieve in all her years of training. She channeled fear, where as he… channeled _beauty._ Her eyes widened, but she finally regained composure after what felt like hours of admiring him to summon her own ribbons of electricity, listening to him as he spoke above the fascinating crackle between the pair. “I’ve learnt a thing or two.”

“I can see tha-” Aangs fingers suddenly pointed her way and made her voice catch in her throat. She never found the time to master redirection. His shot was sure to hit her, so she aimed for his chest and let the bolts loose just as he did. What she failed to realise was that he had aimed for the wall behind her - not until it was to late. He would be hit. An almost fatal blow right at the center of his chest, and from then, everything moved in slow motion. The tresses framing her gorgeous face flailed as her head whipped around to see him and the lightening she sent flying towards him. Her face dropped, mouth wide open, her knees going weak, her arm was reaching for him, her voice silently screaming for him to move, but before it was too late, her target was hit.

Or so she thought.

Aang had mastered lightening redirection long ago – this was something the princess didn’t know. His hand caught the pure electricity, and what happened next was exhilarating to watch. The pure force of the element knocked Aang back a few paces, and the look on his face expressed agony. Tails of electricity flourished around him, an intense blue light igniting his features as he moved his hands: down his left arm, through his stomach until, finally, pointing out to the sky with his right. He was stunningly powerful, the lighting leaving his body with a ferocious crackle that was bound to catch everyone in the palaces attention, for this wasn’t the product of a thunderstorm; skies a clear blue. Soon they would ask what happened and suspicion would land on her. Right now, none of that mattered to her as everything returned to normal and she dropped to the ground. Aang was panting, watching her kneeling form, and the air felt thinner than ever before, and her skin was paler than snow, and her heart was beating out of her chest, and adrenaline was coursing through her veins, and he was beautiful – the most powerful man in the world. The only man who would ever be good enough, and slowly, a smile spread across his face, and soon a breathless laugh spilled from his lips. He hadn’t felt an adrenaline rush like that one in years. For a split second, he really thought he was done for. For a split second, she thought he was done for, too.

If this is what life with Azula felt like, he didn’t want to avoid her anymore.

******

“Zuko…”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re concussed,” Katara said, standing to make her way over to him, worry painting her features. “One today is enough. It’d be better for you to stay here so we can have another healing session-”

“I said I’ll be fine.” He raised his voice unnecessarily. 

“Hey, don’t get mad at me for something that isn’t my fault!” She backed up from Zuko, who was standing in front of a tall mirror, fixing his robes for the first of todays meetings. “I’m only trying to help you.” She heard him sigh, his head bowing slightly before turning to face her at last. Sometimes he was a little too stubborn – well, he was too stubborn a lot of the time, really – with the pressure of the looming rebellion on his shoulders, the tension between him and Aang, and not to mention, the paranoia around his sister. He was taking it out on all the wrong people; like Katara, for instance, the love of his life. Soon, he would have to get his act together.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Zuko spoke without looking at her, like a child confessing to their mother. He was shaking his head. Though he didn’t see the way she was looking at him, like she didn’t actually care. “If I could cancel this damned meeting, I would, Katara, but I can’t.”

“What about the other one?” He shook his head again, his eyes meeting hers.

 _“I can’t.”_ The words from his lips a whisper. Maybe if Azula took the crown from him, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. There were days he felt as though he wasn’t cut out for it.

“Well then… promise me you’ll take it easy?” Katara said, making her way over to him, hands straightening his robes as she spoke, almost reserved. “And whatever you do, don't fall asleep.” She cracked a forced smile and he laughed at the reality of how boring the meetings could be.

“It’ll be a challenge,” He laughed, looking as she smiled up at him, but there was something hidden in her eyes. Something that told him she wasn’t being genuine. “But I’ll try.”

“Good.” She leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek, oddly reserved. Katara still hadn’t told him what happened with Aang, even though it was constantly playing in her mind, but she knew she would have to. It knocked her a bit. Everything had to be forced. Yes, she worried for him. And... she loved him. Of course she loved him. She had to love him. But she needed a minute. Sometimes it was all a bit much. Sometimes she dwelled on the truth of how she really felt about their relationship. “And stop worrying so much, okay?”

“Okay.” Zuko replied, taking her in as she stood in front of him. As long as he had Katara, he would be all right. Yes, as long as he had her, everything would work out. This thought brought him to cup her cheek lovingly, the glimmer in her eyes drawing him in as he leaned down to place his lips against hers in a sweet gesture. Katara would keep him sane. As long as she stayed, he would get through anything.

*****

“Hey, Toph?” 

“Yeah?”

“How long are you planning on staying here?” Sokka asked, eyes staring up at the ceiling, in an almost reminiscent way.

“If by here you mean this couch, then not long. I kinda feel like I’m gonna throw up.” She planted her feet hard on the ground with a loud thud. It was Sokka’s suggestion that she relax with her feet up with him. It had been a bad idea from the beginning.

“No. I mean _here._ The Fire Nation.”

“Wait... you do know this is just a pit stop for me, right?” Sokka propped himself up on his elbows at that. _Pit stop?_ “I’m just waiting for a letter and then I’m off to Omashu to search for more metal benders.”

“Aang’s gonna take you?” Toph actually thought she heard some kind of annoyance in his voice, but that might have been wishful thinking. After all, he’s got Suki to worry about. She sighed, blowing the locks of hair out of her face.

“Yup.” Toph replied, but it was more like she was speaking to herself. There was no point in denying her unrequited feelings for him, but the sooner she got away, the better. They had been traveling as the Gang again for nearly a year, and her feelings for him rose from the depths of her childhood. They had been buried and long forgotten, until this past year.

“It’ll be boring without you, Toph.” Sokka said truthfully, but it hurt for her ears to hear because she would miss him for a completely different reason, and the reality of that hit harder each time she was faced with it.

“Sure, I’ve heard it all before.” She shrugged him off, because the best way to handle how she felt was by shoving anyone who cares away.

“I’m telling the truth, Toph.” He sat upright, seeming all too serious for her. “You don't realise what a great friend you are.”

“Whatever.” She shrugged, avoiding him completely. 

“You _really_ can’t take a complement, can you?” The man chuckled. It always perplexed him as to why such a headstrong girl could be so shy. And anyway, it was true what he said. On the darkest, most _boring,_ empty days, Toph was there, and she would always make it that much brighter. He would miss her. _She_ would miss him more.

It was the sound of the Avatar groaning, arms stretched far above his head to rid his body from the tension of sitting in a chair for over five hours, that caught their attention, the past conversation forgotten like a cloudburst.

“Where have you been?” Sokka stood.

“You’re _smart_ enough to put two and _two_ together, _Sokka.”_ Aang grumbled. The constant stretching caused his speech to be filled with gaps. Sokka watched him; Toph ignored him.

“Meetings. I got that part. But I thought you only had one? I haven’t seen you like all day! Hardly at all this week!” He sounded like a worried mother. Well, he supposed that was expected, but he still couldn’t help but laugh.

“Two. I only found out about the earlier one an hour or so before.” He began removing the extra garments he didn’t need before throwing them over the couch. “The first ended up running into the second.” He rolled his shoulders back, still feeling stiff. “As for that last part... I’m sure you can understand.”

He nodded and only regarded what his friend said about the meetings. “Same old bullshit?”

“For five hours.” He grimaced, earning a pity laugh from Sokka.

“Wow. That's rough.”

“Tell me about it…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, a sigh escaping him. Of course the meetings weren’t all bullshit, but progress was rarely ever made when the ancient members took their seat. Nothing got past their traditional views, making everything a hundred times harder for him and Zuko. At some point he would have to put his foot down; he was extremely close to it today. There was a mound of tension sitting right on his shoulders that badly needed to be unhinged. “Hey, uh…” Aang rubbed the back of his neck, fearing the worst from his best friend. “Have you seen Azula?” 

Sokka’s eyes widened. 

“Azula?” Toph suddenly popped up out of nowhere, just as shocked as Sokka. The difference was that she had a smile plastered on her face.

“Toph,” Aang was scowling at her. “Can you stop smiling like that?”

“Not until you explain yourself, _idiot,”_ It was just Toph and Aang now; Sokka was simply staring at him.

“There’s nothing to explain!” There wasn’t really… I mean, he just wanted to spar with her… to rid some tension. Not so hard to explain – in _theory._

“Fine.” She crossed her arms, facing him completely. Sokka was still staring. “But why do you want know where she is?”

He was dumbfounded. Lost for words completely, flailing around like an “idiot”, as Toph calls him, like it would somehow help him avoid saying something he would regret, while her voice prodded, over and over and over “Come on twinkles why do you wanna see the princess? Come on just tell us! If it weren’t bad you would tell us without a thought! Spill it!” pulling and prying for an answer. Of course saying the wrong thing was inevitable, “-Come on twinkles-” the spiky claws of social awkwardness gripping his skin “-COME ON-” and causing him to say: “Because she makes me feel _alive!”_

_Spirits give me strength…_

Two pairs of eyes blinked at him, both minds swimming in the most creative and _suggestive_ predictions for what the Avatar could possibly mean by that! The colour drained from his face. 

_“Wait-”_

“-She… makes you… what?” Sokka whispered, his mouth hanging open. Aang had two options: wait and explain, or run. Meanwhile, Toph was holding her hand to her mouth, no doubt holding back a malicious snigger.

“It came out wrong…” Aang began, holding out his hands, wrecking his brain for some way to make this better. All he was sensing from the pair in front of him was a shit load of dirty scenarios. He shut his eyes tight, only getting frustrated from this whole thing. “Let me explain.”

“Oh,” Came a laugh. _“Please do.”_

_Azula._

~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANY READERS HERE FOR ZUTARA I RECOMMEND YOU STOP READING. 
> 
> This is an Aang and Azula focused fanfic. I never intended for Zutara to be a main focal point. You have been warned.
> 
> *ALSO I EDITED PREVIOUS CHAPTERS TO FIX THE CONTINUITY OF THIS STORY (which was absolutely horrible) BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER WAS COMPLETELY AHEAD OF THE REST SINCE I HAD BEEN AWAY FOR SO LONG, PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER FOR THE STORY TO MOVE ALONG A LOT EASIER*

Toph sat eagerly forward, her smirk growing wider by the second thanks to some first class entertainment from Twinkle Toes and the Princess herself. Sokka shot around at the sound of Azula’s voice to see her standing with her hands on her hips, looking past him and straight at Aang. His grin widened, her timing absolutely _perfect._ “Maybe things won’t be boring without you after all, Toph!” Sokka laughed and Toph’s face dropped, her fist slamming hard into his arm without warning - and _not_ out of affection. “Ouch!” He gripped his arm, frowning at her, her arms crossed firmly across her middle.

“Stop staring at me, _meat-head!”_ Toph grumbled, annoyed at his words for a reason he would never know.

Meanwhile, Aang gave the princess one long glance before rolling his eyes and looking away in what seemed like sheer boredom. She raised an eyebrow, noticing how the action was forced and wondering why for a moment. Though she quickly filled in the blanks like he expected her to and gave him a sly smile. “Of course _you’re_ here,” He sighed and she dropped a hand from her hip, glaring at him with a convincing anger.

“You should be _happy_ to see me.” She replied swiftly, making him laugh as he rounded the couch and sat on it with a loud sigh, Sokka _completely_ bemused. Two seconds ago he was looking for her, and now he was… annoyed? 

“I didn’t say I wasn’t?” He leaned back, rolling his head around to stretch his neck but the sound of heals clacking against the tiled floor coming closer and closer made him stop, looking up at her. She was now blocking his friends from view on the couch opposite and gave him a knowing smirk and he visibly relaxed, glad she had caught his drift. They continued their role-play with ease, working together to save him from this situation. Aang didn’t particularly want to explain his near death (courtesy of Azula) to Sokka and Toph, so as soon as he laid eyes on her, he quickly came up with an idea to escape their questions and put faith in her to understand. With a mind like hers, he wasn’t worried and expected nothing less than a seamless transition.

“Well you certainly seem less than amused.”

“Probably because you just happened to show up when I said something I didn’t mean to say and you heard me.” He went on, this part true. “And now you’re going to blow it out of proportion.” And this part… only a tiny bit true.

She grumbled, both hands now holding her hips. “I never blow anything out of proportion.”

“Oh, _of course not,”_ He replied cheekily. There was silence. And Sokka inched his head slowly around to peek a look at Aang’s face. She knew he probably didn’t mean what he said. He was acting… she wasn’t over-dramatic… was she?

“I do _not_ blow things out of proportion!” He looked back up at her wide-eyed. Did she just take that to heart?

Sokka piped up. “You kinda do-” 

“Quiet peasant!” She shouted, whipping around to face him, Sokka shrinking in his seat as the anger burned on her skin and Aang flinched at what he had unleashed.

“You’re over-exaggerating _right now,”_ Aang proved and she scowled back at him, a look of death. It was almost real and he gulped. She was taking this slightly too serious, but he had to stick to his point or even Sokka would figure it out.

_“What point are you trying to make?”_

“None,” He shrugged, really telling her the truth. None of what he said was _completely true!_ “I’m _just saying-”_

 _“You are infuriating.”_ She growled, reaching her hand down and pulling him to his feet by his robes, having had enough of this improvisation. Sokka was watching in awe and Toph was grinning from ear to ear. She could sense Aang’s heartbeat and knew the entire thing wasn’t real. Though Aang was still startled at her strength, act or not, and it took him a moment to balance. 

“You could have just told me to get up!” He complained sincerely and she rolled her eyes, kicking her heals off suddenly, the action grasping his attention instantly as she shrunk by a few inches.

“Shut up and come with me,” She gripped his wrist harshly and pulled, Aang staring back at his friends with a fake worried expression, seeing Sokka stare back with a narrow gaze, at long last sensing something _a little off,_ and Toph laughing her head off. She couldn’t believe how _gullible_ the warrior was sometimes. 

_“That was weird…”_ He whispered, but shrugged and went back to his tea, Toph musing at the idiot beside her.

At the same time, Aang built up speed, her hand still holding his wrist even though she didn’t have to pull him along anymore. He glanced down at her and her trademark smirk finally surfaced on her lips. “Training-grounds?” Aang asked, finally out of earshot, and she answered with a scoff almost instantly.

“Where else?” He laughed as they made their way eagerly to the grounds.  
She abruptly let go of his arm when they got there and she slinked over to the opposite side of the grounds. When she turned to face him he gave her a once over, his hand rubbing over his scalp as he really noticed what she was wearing – and how good she looked. "Uh..."

“Don’t worry. I can fight _just fine_ in a dress.” She smirked, feeling his eyes on her. “You, _however..._ are wearing _far_ too much.” He rolled his eyes, taking off his remaining robes and holding his hands out, giving her a look as if to say _‘is this good enough?’_ and like she knew what he meant, she nodded, the orange and yellow fabric being thrown behind him and onto the steps in a heap. “Come _on!”_ She backed up a little more, Aang doing the same, their hands out in defense and eyes never leaving each other on high alert. “You’re an _easy_ kill with _that_ stance.”

He readied himself, laughing a little. “Too bad you can’t kill me since you owe me one.”

She straightened. _“I_ owe _you_ one? _You_ owe _me_ one after I so effortlessly dragged you from that situation and saved you from having to explain-” She stopped abruptly, not knowing what exactly it was that he would have had to explain to his friends. But thankfully, he joined in, sensing the awkward silence and wanting to get out of it _just_ as much as she did.

“Alright then, we don’t owe each other anything.” She smirked, liking how easily he changed the subject. She got into position, her knee jutting out of the high slit in her dress and he pried his eyes from her bare skin, clearing his throat. “Now promise you won’t hold back,”

She shrugged, “As you wish.” and sent a blast of blue fire directly his way with a grin. And so began their duel of fire.

They attacked like enemies, but smiled and laughed like they were having the best time of their life.

Far above them in one of the carpeted corridors of the palace, Katara was minding her own business taking quick and hasty steps. She was bored and on her way to the kitchen to hopefully get something to eat when the lowest mumbling coming from just around the corner caught her attention. Without another thought, she decided this was more interesting. Careful not to make herself known, she slid closer to the wall and took great precaution with every move she made. “…Can’t understand…” She was only picking up a few words, and so she slid closer to the very edge of the corner, back flat against the wall and listened intently.

“Oh, _Lin,_ I _know!_ I mean, imagine leaving the Avatar for _him?_ I just don’t get it!” A young girl said and Katara shut her eyes, her face contorting in discomfort.

“I guess that explains why he’s been with Azula so much.” Another girl droned her voice a lot quieter and Katara’s chest tightened, ears pricking up and eyes shooting open. 

_“Azula?!”_ The other gasped.

“Haven’t you heard the rumours?-”

“No! Tell me, tell me!” She sounded excited, too excited, and Katara leaned even closer, just too make sure she could hear every word spoken next. This was news to her – news she _despised_ if it in any way matched her racing thoughts.

“Well there isn’t much to say, but… _apparently,_ when the Avatar arrived, he spent the evening in Azula’s rooms.” Katara stopped herself from gasping.

“Oh what I wouldn’t _give_ to know the _details!”_ The other girl piped up loudly, so excited it made Katara’s stomach turn. Spirit’s knows what was going on in that girl’s head. The other one was slightly defensive.

“I’m not sure if there _are_ any… I mean, he is _quite_ the gentleman-”

She disregarded her, too caught up in the gossip. “Do you _really think_ he would go for _Azula?_ It would be a scandal! _Imagine!_ The Avatar and the Fire Nation _Princess!”_ Katara was itching to get away at this point. She didn’t want to hear anymore… but she couldn’t pull herself away; the image of the two of them together was settling in her mind like a parasite.

“I just hope he forgets about that Water Tribe girl… Katana, was it? Oh I can’t remember.” She could feel the lump in her throat growing by the second. “He deserves so much, I mean, you really _can’t_ get any better than the Avatar. She was a fool to let him go.” The truths in the girls’ words hit Katara _hard,_ guilt and regret manifesting in her stomach as the urge to throw up. “I don’t even know how I feel about him and Azula… remember, she was crazy not that long ago. Is she really worthy?” Katara agreed. She would _never_ be good enough for him.  
The other girl took a long pause, her voice going quiet, and Katara thought if it was even worth her while anymore. 

“I'm not sure… I'm sure the Avatar would make the right decision! I do feel sorry for Lady Mai, though, don't you? The whole thing has made me look at our Fire Lord like he's a child! Do you suppose he’s gotten her pregnant?” The girl whispered and Katara’s hand shot up to cover her mouth.

“You know, I _really_ wouldn’t be surprised.”

That set her off. She turned on her heel and walked the other way, chewing on her bottom lip and wishing she hadn’t listened at all. The thing that was sticking with her was their two names together… Azula and Aang. _No._ She wouldn’t believe it until he told her himself, her thoughts swirling as she tried to wish it not real. Then she heard a laugh that she knew too well and her stomach dipped, stopping her in her tracks. It was still coming, a magnificent sound, just to her right, the window. So she turned to it and walked forward, his laugh still bright in her ears and brighter the closer she got. She begged not to see her with him, stopping and looking down, but her desperate wish was denied and her stomach flipped, hands clenching instantly at the sight below her. There was Aang, cheerful as always with a bright smile on his lips, and there was Azula just a few feet away. Katara couldn’t fathom it. She thought her eyes were deceiving her, thought it must be someone else. Her mind was just playing tricks on her, that’s all! It _had_ to be! There had to be some other explanation! Why her? Why on _earth_ did it have to be her? She couldn’t stand to see them together any longer, couldn’t suppress the nausea coming over her in hot waves the longer she looked. And so she turned and ran back the way she came, no longer feeling hungry.

***

Azula had caught a glimpse of her standing at the window before scurrying away. Instead of the measly side eyed glance, she stood straight and looked directly to the now empty window, ceasing her attack on the Avatar, knowing he would follow suit. Confused as to why she had stopped, his cheery smile disappeared. Azula hummed, Aang’s attention completely on her now. “It seems your _precious Katara_ has just caught a glimpse of our little session.”

He moved to her side, following her line of sight and finding nothing and no one. Bewilderment in his stare, he glanced down at her. “There’s no one there?”

 _“I know that!”_ She growled at him, just making him roll his eyes since he had already grown used to the common occurrence of snappy replies from her. “But she was there a few seconds ago, getting a pretty good look before she walked off.”

Aang looked at her in disbelief. “There’s _no way_ you could’ve seen all that in a few seconds.”

Azula scoffed at him, her arms crossed. “I’ll have you know my peripheral vision is _impeccable.”_ She stated simply, then gave him a side eye glance and smirked. “I even catch you gawking from time to time.” His eyes grew wide, cheeks turning crimson.

“Gawking? I don’t – Well - _you’re_ not completely innocent when it comes to staring!” He stammered on, embarrassed, and she suppressed a laugh, shrugging and turning her back to him.

“I know.” The princess replied shamelessly. _“You’re a sight for sore eyes.”_ She flicked her dark hair over her shoulder and turned leaving Aang behind her, who was stuck to the spot in slight shock as she walked on. But she decided his company for dinner would be nicer than sitting with her brother and those other peasants she loved so much. “Are you coming?” She called without turning to face him.

“Um… sure.” He replied, catching up to her easily thanks to his long legs. They continued forward in silence, Aang feeling a little awkward and Azula as joyful as was possible for her. His eyes found his robes on the steps, but before he could grab them, she leaned down and gathered the orange and yellow fabric into her arms and held them out to him, her eyes traveling from his bare chest to his face so slowly that Aang could practically feel everywhere her eyes had looked. 

“You should probably put these on.” She practically ordered, shoving them into his chest, his hands now holding them close. Feeling a little risky, as she always felt, she leaned forward a little and whispered with an arched eyebrow, “We wouldn’t want anyone _else_ to stare.” Aang swallowed down the sudden urge to kiss her.

“I think that's a good idea.” He nodded, the words practically choked out as he looked at her sultry stare with as much professionalism as possible, obeying her order and pulling the robes over his head swiftly. A smile graced her perfect lips in approval before she trailed her hand up to his bare shoulder and he focused on breathing steady. 

“I’d love to see you in Fire Nation attire someday, though.” She sighed, and turned as if it was nothing, pulling her dress up to her ankles as she continued up the steps. The thought never really occurred to him, but maybe some day he would do that for her. That's when another thought came to him, a scary one: whatever Azula asked, it seemed he was willing to do. And that fact stuck with him, playing on his mind as they entered the royal dining hall in silence and painting a frown on his features without him even noticing. They had only been in each other’s company a week. 

_A week._

Like second nature, and without realising what he was doing, he pulled out her chair for her and she smirked up at him as she took her seat and gave Zuko a look, like part of her plan was slipping into place. Though when she turned her attention back to him and noticed his distant expression, eyes staring blankly ahead with his hands still gripping her chair, her brows knit together. “What’s wrong?” Her voice shook him out of it and he looked down at her instantly, completely confused.

“What? Nothing.”

“Well then, _sit. Everyone’s staring.”_ She almost hissed and he looked up, feeling completely out of it when he saw the rest of the chairs occupied. It was only at that moment that he realised how much he spaced out and laughed, feeling his stomach flip before glancing at Katara across the way who was glaring at him at first but quickly snapped her head away from his when he found her eyes. Instantly, his brows furrowed. 

“Sorry,” He murmured under his breath to Azula while still looking at Katara, taking his seat quickly. Scanning the table he saw Toph speaking passed a large dumpling in her mouth to Sokka, Zuko engrossed in a scroll as he sipped from a chalice, and Katara picking aimlessly around her bowl, Aang leaned closer to the princess, hearing Toph and Sokka laugh rather loudly. “Was this scheduled?” Aang whispered.

“No.” She unfolded her napkin and laid it over her lap, seeming uninterested. He settled back in his chair, feeling a little more informed and stared down at the empty space in front of him, trying to ignore Katara’s eyes on him whenever he wasn’t looking at her. She wasn’t even eating, just pushing the remains of her meal around in the bowl. And the tension radiating off Zuko was suffocating the air. Azula obviously noticed Katara, too, so she leaned over to him, her hand deliberate and light against arm and her lips close to his ear in a bid to raise a reaction in the Water Tribe girl. He looked up from the table and, surely enough, she was staring again before quickly looking down at the food in front of her and taking the smallest bite. All at once, his senses were enveloped in the princess as soon as her lip brushed his ear, the hot breath from her parted lips sending a shiver down his spine when she spoke and he bowed his head slightly, hands clenching in his lap. _“I told you so… just look at her face.”_ Azula purred in his ear, honey eyes looking at the topic of their short conversation from the corner of her eye as she lingered beside him, her other hand sliding over his back and to his bare shoulder. The girls jaw clenched and Azula watched her reaction with delight, the smirk on her face as smug as anything when she slid back into her seat again, fingers delayed in their return and sliding down his arm and across his back with excruciating slowness as Aang relaxed again. Katara murmured something to herself, but Aang didn’t notice since his eyes were still shut tight, completely entranced with the feel of her hands on his body, even for such a short moment. The princess reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear with a forced innocence as she murmured under her breath to him, _“She watched me that entire time.”_ He turned his head to her at the words and she forcibly cleared her throat, smoothing the napkin out on her lap as he turned his attention to Katara again and her face contorting as she looked away again. And while Azula asked the servant (who had approached without Aang noticing) for what she wanted, she glanced at him for a second and said, “Just… anything vegetarian.” and Aang continued to watch Katara intently, silently, searching for an explanation in her face; her body language; her _anything._ In the oddest way, it seemed like she was jealous.

She seemed to be losing focus on what she was doing, simply staring at her food now. Zuko was staring at her too, completely disregarding the scroll, now hanging loosely in his hands. The way she was bouncing her leg under the table caught Aang’s (and Toph’s) attention. Why was she acting this way? He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why did she seem so angry with him? It seemed the longer he stared, the more tense she got, her leg bouncing faster and her focus on pretending to be busy completely gone as she just clutched the chopsticks in her hand harder, her jaw tightening like a vice as the seconds went by, the skin on her cheeks burning and her heart beat skyrocketing so suddenly that even Toph noticed, her head turning to the girl and suddenly she stood up like lightening, everyone’s attention now on her from the thud of the chair falling behind her from the abrupt motion as she stared back at Aang with anger fueling everything she did, everything she said, as she glared at his confused face and blurted out, “Quit it!”

His eyes widened and now everyone was staring at him. “Quit _what?”_ Everything around them stopped, the only sound her heavy breathing. Azula, seated beside him, smiled down at her knees, pretending to fix her napkin once again. 

“You’ve been staring at me this _entire time!”_ She shouted, but he kept his calm. 

“And you weren’t?” She scowled at him.

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.” He said calmly. “And every time I caught you, you looked like you wanted to kill me.” Her nails dug into the table.

“Maybe because I’d rather not see you cozy up with _her_ when I’m _trying_ to _eat!”_

“Her?” Azula raised an eyebrow as she spoke and Aang’s frown at Katara deepened.

“She has a name.” He said and Katara’s face turned to one of realisation, her throat closing and her heart beat speeding up even more. Zuko stared at her, confused because she shouldn’t care about them… but, _clearly,_ she did. 

“Oh… so _that’s_ how it is then.” She choked out the words and turned to storm away, but Zuko got up with her, a hand out to her in worry.

“Katara-”

“Don’t!” She screamed back, the heavy weight of un-shed tears evident in her tone of voice. So he sat, knowing it would be pointless to follow her, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he rubbed his hands over his face in pure frustration. Though when everyone’s attention turned to Aang, his fists clenched under the table.

“Is it her time of the month, Zuzu?” Azula’s voice piped up with a pout and Zuko looked at her with disgust. Aang looked at her the same, his glare more of a warning, but neither bothered her one bit.

“Know when to stop, Azula. _You go too far.”_ Aang whispered and got up, turning to find the servant with their meals. Just on time, he thought, resisting the urge to groan. “I apologise, but could you bring mine back to the kitchen?” 

“Of course, Sir,” He bowed and Aang slipped around him, going after Katara while everyone else stayed put, the look on Zuko’s face priceless to Azula.

“Thank you,” Azula chimed as her meal was set in front of her, a content expression on her face as she began eating, not phased by Sokka and Zuko’s eyes on her.

“So…” Toph began, picking a piece of food between her teeth as she spoke. “You and Aang… is that a thing now?” Zuko sighed loud enough for the kitchen staff to hear, Sokka planting his face in his hands. Her timing was always terrible, but Azula smiled to herself.

“Yes…No…” She sighed with her eyes on her meal before looking deviously at Zuko. _“Maybe…”_ She pronounced each syllable, popping a piece of chicken in her mouth, throwing her brother a smile once she swallowed the mouthful and he grumbled, leaning forward to top up his wine. “Think of it as whatever you like, but we are _strictly on sparring terms.”_

 _“Well you could cut the tension with a knife.”_ Sokka mumbled under his breath, but she heard him perfectly, her attention now turning to him and he regretted saying anything. 

“You’re welcome to hear the details if we do something about it.” She shrugged; continuing to eat and hearing Zuko scoff once more as Sokka’s eyes widened.

“You’re _disgusting.”_ He took a gulp of his wine.

“The Avatar doesn’t seem to think so.” She shot back matter-of-factly, her grin victorious in a way and Zuko’s scowl a warning. She smirked anyway, continuing with her meal as though nothing happened. "Could you pass me the wine, Zuzu?"

*****

When he caught sight of her sitting on steps of the training-grounds, he almost decided to turn around and forget the whole thing happened. But in the end he persevered.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

Giving him an arched look, she sighed and looked away, wiping at her cheeks. “Pretty sure I made it clear that I didn’t want to be followed.”

He sat down beside her, but she didn’t move away. “I don’t care.”

“Doesn’t sound like you.” She replied bluntly, and there was something criticising in the way she said it. Despite the urge to bite back, he bit his tongue.

Only one word came to mind when he thought about her reaction in there, trying but failing to make sense of it all. So he glanced at her after a moment and said, “Why?”

“Because you usually care about everything and-”

“You know that’s not what I mean.” Aang cut her off, and for the second time, she looked over at him, her eyes holding a plethora of what he could only identify as guilt. Cold, hard guilt. For a split second, he almost felt sorry for her; but that was before he remembered where the guilt probably stemmed from. She shrugged and he looked to the ground. “I don’t know.” It was easy to tell that was a lie, a cover up to try and avoid this conversation. He sighed.

“Yes, you do.”

The laugh that came from her throat was mocking. “You sound quite sure of yourself.”

“Because I am.” He replied flatly.

“How can you _possibly tell_ what I’m feeling?” She said soon after, her tone that of a stranger to him. But deep down she knew he was always able to tell what she was feeling – even with one look. The pause was long between them and almost impossible to bear.

“Do I really need to answer that?” Aang said, and she shook her head slowly. From his peripheral he could see the way she picked at her nails, and he knew something was eating at her. How in-touch with each other’s emotions they were – even now, after everything that had happened – was a fact that tugged at something deep within her. It tugged at something else within Aang - irritation. She drew in a breath through her nose before letting it out in an effort to calm whatever it was that tried to hold her back from telling him how she felt. Her eyes were glassy when she spoke next, and he was determined to listen. 

“I hate how easily you’ve moved on.” She said quietly, and he was drowned in disbelief.

“What?” 

“I saw you two together. And you were happy; happier than I’ve seen you in _months._ And seeing you like that…” He saw the way she clenched her jaw and tensed. “Especially with _her-”_ She stopped, the rest stuck in her throat and he knew if he spoke now, he would never hear the rest. So he held his breath, and finally, she looked up and out onto the grounds, the sunset giving everything a warm glow that mocked the ice in her heart. Fear froze her, but only for a moment until the words dripped off of her tongue like some kind of poison. “I feel… betrayed.” His breath got stuck in his throat. “I know I have no right, but that's how I feel.” He noticed a slight glistening on her cheek, for once not feeling the urge to wipe it away. There was something enlightening about that fact as she went on, finally letting out her emotions. “I feel jealous; and alone; and regretful. I feel _so much regret,_ because I look at him, and all I see is your face and the pain behind your eyes when you look at me and I _hate_ myself for everything I’ve done and how much I _hurt you.”_

Aang was dumbfounded by her confession, not knowing what to do or say as she cried silently beside him. Though one question pushed at his lungs, making it hard to breath. A question he didn’t _truly_ know if he wanted an answer for. A question she had been asking herself since the night she pushed herself on him, dwelling on but never answering because she was scared of the truth and she hated who she had become when she asked it. She was constantly lying to herself when the question came to mind. Aang, as it seems, was going to ask that very question, his eyes distant and everything inside him rejecting his decision. But he _needed to know._

With a sigh, he shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. “Do you really love him, Katara?”

The sting of tears burned her throat, her answer begging to be released and it seemed it only took the words coming out of his mouth, specifically, for her to admit it at last. “No.” On the spot, his mouth went dry. Too dry to be able to utter another word. So he looked at her once more, her face in her hands as she shook with disgust at herself, and he got up, turned around, and went back to the dining room to finish his meal. Without another _word._

Katara sat there for the rest of the night, polite when she turned her brother away but quite the opposite when Zuko arrived with a hand on her shoulder as she shrugged it away. Doubt nipped at his heels when he made the journey to his rooms – _their rooms_ – to sleep alone. 

One of the first thing’s that came to the young woman’s mind as she watched the moon swim across the sky was home. Not having Aang in her life hit her like a brick wall. What happened with Zuko happened. It was passionate, lustful, entirely physical, and it stopped there. That’s what she couldn’t come to grips with. She tried her hardest to care about him like she did Aang. To be attentive and gentle just like she had been to Aang, she really tried; gazing at him like she only had eyes for him, kissing him not only with hunger, but also as a forced kind of habit, and fucking him… _not making love_ to him, with a mask that said _'I love you'_ and fooled him. Beyond the facade that Zuko didn’t even know existed, she couldn’t bring herself to love him deeply, to yearn to be with him every second of every day simply to do nothing, to breathe with him like she did Aang. She would tell him she loved him. She would tell herself she did even though it all felt forced. She would catch him looking at her and she would smile brightly, the effort it took slowly grating on her each time. Maybe if she carried on like this, something would click and she would finally feel at home - that's what she told herself day in day out, when they were lying together under sheets that smelled of sex; one completely sated and one thinking of the man she betrayed who slept a few halls away. She told herself some day it would all become real and the attraction she felt to Zuko would soon be an add on to their _undying love._ Now as she sat under the night sky, the only thing that clicked with her was the endless feeling of _dread_ that this was _all there was._ That one stupid, thoughtless, hasty, wrong and _horrific_ decision plunged her into this loneliness that seemed would last forever. The constant reminder of losing something great every time she heard his laugh, wishing it could be her at his side again. _Wishing_ she could break the winding ball that was time and take it all back. It was now that her mistake clung to her with the power of an iron vice.

 _And what a mistake she made._

*****

The next morning, it seemed almost everyone in the place had slept horribly; save for Azula who slept _best of all._

Zuko had noticed Katara’s absence all night, tossing and turning, reaching to pull her close but finding cool sheets instead. Thankful nothing was scheduled for the day, he wore a more casual tunic and pants, actively praying to the spirits that nothing would come up. If anything, he would try again with her today, the thought of her distant stare making him feel sick. Everything seemed great until last night when she practically pushed him away but accepted the Avatar with open arms. It made him angry. Was she playing the both of them? Had she been playing him the _entire time?_ He had so many questions for her, but he had to find her first.

For once, Sokka and Toph were up early, chatting away with Momo curled between them, both holding a steaming cup of tea. It was when none other than the princess joined them in the common room that the impending silence descended upon them and Momo flew away, making an exit the warrior was jealous of. Sokka would whistle every once and a while and Azula would grin at the way she made him feel so _uncomfortable_ in her presence, her honey gaze pinning him to the couch and Toph smirking as always. She was much like the princess in her sheer enjoyment of the situation. Though Sokka, much to the two women’s surprise, was the one to speak first: 

“Hey, Azula… Have you ever fought Toph one on one before?” She laughed out of hilarity, Toph scowling instantly.

“Oh, _please,”_ She scoffed, taking a bite out of her apple. “Like _that_ would be much of a challenge. Don’t you remember the day of black sun?”

“You had the Dai Lee!” Toph blurted out, getting to her feet with a loud thud and Azula rolled her eyes. “If I had to guess, I’d say you were too _chicken_ to _face me.”_

The girl grinned and Azula suddenly frowned.

“Alright then. _You’re on.”_ Toph’s menacing grin reached her ears.

Sokka smiled in delight, eyes darting between the two at lightning speed. “Oh _man,_ am I excited to see this!”

Meanwhile, as the morning air greeted the trio with comforting warmth as they descended to the training-grounds Katara sat alone in the palace library, her legs tucked beneath her as she studied a rather large map of the nations. 

And Aang? 

Well, Aang was still staring at the same spot on the ceiling that he had been since _sunrise,_ usually the early riser out of them all, but not today. Arms above his head, he thought about the day to come and sighed. Never in his six years of being the fully realised Avatar did he find himself craving a meeting to take up his time.

First, there was Katara. He couldn’t exactly avoid her, but last night had left him feeling furious towards her. Second, there was Zuko. Considering her abrupt exit, Aang knew Zuko would probably be on his case since she rejected his interventions but accepted Aang’s easily. Third, there was Toph and Sokka who he would have to ask what happened in the dining room while he was gone, because the wide eyed glares and the altogether too cocky smirk on Toph’s lips when he returned told him there had been something he missed. And lastly, there was Azula.

_Where to begin…_

The groan that left him was a strong objection to leaving the warmth of his bed, but he did so anyway, scratching the stubble on his chin and cursing how quickly it grew. He was glad to have his own bathroom; though sometimes sleeping alone grated on him. From the day he met Sokka and Katara, he had rarely ever slept alone. There was always someone close by – that someone usually being Katara. And it’s not that he missed her being at his side… or it’s not that he would admit he did, but being here a week in a bed that was far too big for one person played on his mind. 

Aang stopped in front of the mirror and cleared his throat, giving himself a long look and noticing the dark circles under his eyes. Obviously it was playing on his mind more than he knew. He quickly turned on the tap, watching the water run as he plugged the sink before taking the quite worn down soap bar and created a lather in his hands to smear over his head, jaw and a little down his neck. The water was still cold and he was getting impatient, so he resorted to fire bending with a lazy sigh and turned off the tap, reaching to grab the razor on the shelf beside him but hesitating for just a second. _No,_ he told himself; _Sokka only grew his out recently._ Aang was still young. So he grabbed the thing and shaved away, like he did every other morning. He was finished with his scalp but the events of last night played through his mind at the most inconvenient time and his hand started to shake when he moved to his jaw. Frustration overwhelmed him and he took a deep breath before trying again. 

Why on earth wouldn’t his hand stop shaking? 

He grabbed his wrist and tried to still his hand, getting somewhere with the task, but not far. That’s when a knock on the door right behind him made him jump and his hand slipped, the sound of the razor slicing a gash right into his skin revolting as he yelled out in anger more than pain, the clatter of the thing hitting the ground alerting the person who was behind the door’s attention and they came rushing in. “For the love of- you _bastard!_ I swear to-” He stopped bending the water onto his face, eyes rising to the mirror to find Katara standing behind him, her eyes wide and following the drip of blood down his neck. 

“Are you okay?” She said, exasperated.

“It’s just a little cut, _I’ll be fine.”_ He grumbled, continuing again to wash the rest of the soap from his face and she eyed him worriedly. 

“There’s a lot of blood, Aang.” He paused and stood straight again to inspect his jaw. She was right. He turned his head to get a better look, hissing at the sight of it more than the pain, the blood still trailing down his neck and chest. Silently, she moved to grab a towel from the rack and began wiping the red from his toned stomach and chest, brows in a permanent frown. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just burst in like that.”

“I’m decent, don’t worry about it.” He turned to face her, his hands out either side of him as he made room for her and she moved up to rub at his neck, but the gash was still bleeding. She avoided his eyes. 

“Let me heal it for you.”

He grimaced. _“I can do it myself.”_

“It’s deep Aang. You’re the better bender but I’m the better healer.” She said sounding annoyed and he looked away, knowing she was right but refusing to admit. “Let me help.” His silence was as much of an answer as she would get.  
First she picked the thing off the ground and bended the blood off of it and into the sink before draining the water, making Aang grimace a little. He hated the idea of blood bending just as much as she did, but sometimes she didn’t think out of convenience. He watched her, moving to sit on the toilet instead as she plugged the sink again, letting clean water fill it. The towel in his hand had been pressed under the cut to gather any more blood that would come from it, and when she walked over to him, her hand encased in water, her face dropped at how much there was saturating the towel but she didn’t say a thing and just coaxed him to put it down and turned his head at an angle so she could reach the cut better. When her hand made contact, the pain was only slight - much less than it would have been if it were he doing it. The glow of the water shone in his peripheral, though the look on her face caught his attention more. Until now, only their breathing had filled the air around them.

“Why are you-?”

“Don’t speak. You’re moving too much.” She silenced him. But he still got an answer, nonetheless. “I’m here to ask a favour.” He shut his eyes. _“I know._ But I just… _I need to get out of here, Aang._ It’s not what I thought it would be and I don’t think it’s going to get any better.” He could hear the despair in her voice and swallowed, having an idea of what was coming. And he knew she wasn’t talking about the Fire Nation. “I know you’ll be taking Toph to the Earth Kingdom as soon as she gets word from Bumi,” Her hand suddenly came away from his face and he thought maybe it was over, but when he tried to stand she lay a hand on his chest and he caught sight of the red water encasing her hand and realised she was only getting clean water. Though this was his opening to speak.

“You want me to take you home.” He sighed, memories of how long the journey actually took stirring irritation inside him, but she frowned and went back to healing him.

 _“No._ I wouldn’t expect you to make that journey for me.” He glanced back at her. “Just… if it's not too much of a hassle, could you take me to Ba Sing Se? I know you have to take Toph to Omashu, and it’s fine if you can’t, I understand completely. I mean its not like I’m asking you to practice a Water Bending move with me or grab me a piece of fruit from the market.” She said with a nervous laugh. “I just figured if you were going that way, maybe you’d consider it. Even though I don’t deserve to be in your presence at all.” He resisted the urge to frown at her. The silence that followed wasn’t awkward for him, but he could feel the tension radiating off her. Of course he would take her - especially if she wasn’t happy here. Aang knew the gesture would be reciprocated if it were the other way around. Although, his mind drifted to Zuko. From what Aang could tell, Zuko loved her, and it would break his heart if she left him like that. Why was it that knowing this made Aang even more willing?

Her hand slid from his face and he stood to glance in the mirror. It was as though he never lifted the razor to his face, the gash completely gone. “You really are great at that.” He said while taking a closer look and she smiled, arms crossed over her chest as she waited patiently. The breath he took was deep when he turned to face her, hopeful expectance written all over her face as she looked at him. “Of course I’ll take you. Not to Omashu but to Ba Sing Se if that's really where you want to go.” Her eyes lit up and the smile on her face was so bright that it, annoyingly, triggered his own; big and bright.

“Oh, Aang, thank you so much!” She moved closer, but hesitated, unsure if she would be crossing some line between them and his smile faltered. He did what she couldn’t and put his arms out to her, urging her to come closer and she did. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug that told him she missed him, but he didn’t know how to feel. She felt sad when she noticed how warm he was, his breathing so steady it could send her to sleep, but his chin lay atop her head out of force instead of habit. They pulled apart, and she looked like she could cry there and then. The young woman muttered a goodbye and left him feeling conflicted. He was neutral towards her, neither liking nor disliking the girl anymore. As an instinct, he still felt the need to protect her, that instinct that told him he owed her for their childhood. It wasn’t going away any time soon, and he didn’t mind that. 

What he did mind was the hole she left in his chest that only she could fill, but he wouldn’t spend time with her if he had another choice, making that gaping hole a permanent one. Like he said, he loved her - would always love her - but he wished he didn’t because that love made him do things like this: over-look the dread he felt every time he looked at her and do what’s best for her at the expense of his own feelings. Be selfless and do what your love asks, his instinct told him - never forgetting her betrayal but always and forever remembering their love. Constantly he was at war with himself. It was infuriating. 

Last night, she had almost succeeded in making him feel bad for being happy with Azula. That’s how much power she still had over him.

This was his train of thought as he finished shaving and took a quick shower, scrubbing his neck and chest to make sure no traces of the blood remained. It was as if he was going through the motions, barely noticing what he was doing as he now stood before his open wardrobe, a towel secure around his hips and his eyes scanning the little variation. Three or four outfits were very clearly Air Nation, and the rest quite prominently Fire Nation. He scoffed at the sight. The very measly area of orange and yellow was completely overwhelmed with an abundance of black, gold, and every shade of red you could imagine. Clothes that hadn’t been there yesterday.

This had Azula written all over it.

Well, if she really wanted him to wear one of these that badly… then he _wouldn’t._

****

“Argh! LET ME OUT OF THIS YOU PEASANT!”

“See ya ‘round, princess!” Toph marched on, victorious. The princess’s face had turned scarlet as she screamed out at the top of her lungs, pulling and pushing and wriggling around – but she was getting nowhere. Toph had encased the far-too-smug-for-her-own-good princess in rock up to her neck.

_“I swear to Agni, once I get out of here I will-”_

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved her off. “Sure you will.” Azula growled, watching the pair as they walked away from her. Sokka was wiping the tears from his eyes.

“You should’ve seen your face! HA!”

“Are you _seriously_ going to leave me here?!” The girl yelled, wiggling again but realizing what a waste of energy it was, watching as they ascended the steps.

“Sure am!” Toph laughed, throwing the princess one last grin and a big thumbs up before disappearing into the palace. Azula sighed, leaning her head back in defeat and thinking things couldn’t get much worse. She would just have to wait for the Avatar. 

She could wait. 

Waiting would be _fine._

 _If he didn’t take so damn long!_ “Avatar!” She screamed. _“AVATAR!”_ She screamed even louder, but her yells got the attention she didn’t want, and soon a large group of the palace servants and staff were crowded around the steps, mumbling and laughing their heads off. She growled, cursing that peasant for every second that passed and breathing out blue fire straight up into the sky in hopes the Avatar would see and come to her rescue. But instead, the crowd grew bigger and everyone, even Zuko, and those two peasants had returned to laugh at Toph’s so called ‘masterpiece’ and when she thought it really couldn’t get any worse… the skies darkened and the heavens opened with a fury that matched her own perfectly. The squeal of young women and bellowing laughter of Toph and Sokka was the icing on the cake. “I WILL KILL YOU ALL! MARK MY WORDS!”

Zuko chuckled, shielding himself from the rain with a hand as everyone else hurried inside. The look she gave him was terrifying. “I’m sure you deserved it.”

And then he was gone. And the scowl on her face was concrete as the rain poured down on her, making her dark hair stick to her face, the water dripping into her eyes and off the tip of her nose. She shut her eyes and vowed never to duel that girl again. 

The rain wasn’t too cold, and that’s something she was grateful for. But it didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.

It was when that familiar voice called her name that her eyes shot open and she caught sight of him, relief washing over her with power ten-fold that of the downpour. Though the smile plastered on his face as he ran toward her made her scowl at him instantly. “Don't you _dare_ laugh,” She warned him, but he found it impossible not to.

“Sorry,” He smiled at her, assuming an Earth bending stance and lifting his hands, palm down before plunging them down towards the ground, taking the earth with it. The relief was instant, but she seemed to have lost feeling in her legs and fell forward, her arms flailing around, the ground getting closer and a scream spilling from her throat, though she never felt the ground; only his arms around her. _“Whoa!_ You alright?” Aang chuckled, and she swallowed, completely trapped in his steel grey eyes that she forgot how to speak. It was always him melting before her, but here she was. _Drowning._

“Yes, Avatar, I’m fine.” He tilted his head at her formality and she reached for his shoulder, trying to stand again on weak legs but falling back again with a yell and into his arms. She groaned, her hands covering her face, feeling utterly powerless. _“This is humiliating…”_ She grumbled into her hands, still feeling his stare on her as she focused completely on his hands cradling her back and across her waist. One thing she hated was being embarrassed, but she didn’t mind his hands on her.

“No, it isn’t.” He reassured halfheartedly, and even an _idiot_ could tell he was lying. The rain was still falling on them as he adjusted her in his arms, hooking one arm under her legs and standing so he was carrying her bridal-style and she despised the way the heat rose to her cheeks. One of her hands came away from her face and wrapped in the front of his shirt and the other arm was snaked around his neck, holding on as if for dear life. He tried not to think about her nails. Or how beautiful she looked soaked in the rain.

“You should have seen the audience.” She spoke under her breath.

“They’ll forget about it in a couple of days.” He resisted the urge to smile but she noticed and gave him a look.

“You know that’s not true.”

 _“That’s_ not true.” He laughed at his own weak humour but she still had to bite her cheek, determined to stay angry with him and everyone else as they finally came out of the rain and neared the palace. 

“I’m sure they won’t forget about you carrying me to my rooms.”

He rolled his eyes, glancing down at her to see her look away quickly and he smirked. “Let them talk. They do anyway.”

His unabashed reply made her heart skip a beat. “They don’t bother you?”

He shook his head with a face saying she was stupid to ask such a thing. “Do they bother you?”

 _“Of course not,”_ She replied quickly, though sometimes she found herself caring late at night when no one was there to see her with her guard down. “Anyway… why are you wearing this _drab?”_ He laughed, a toothy grin directed her way and she bit her cheek again, looking away. Clearly, he caught some of the on-lookers attention, seeing the turn of heads and hearing a few whispers but ignoring them as he made his way up the stairs with the princess in his arms. She raised a warning eyebrow at a handful of them, satisfied when a few of them scurried away to get on with their work.

Aang suddenly broke his laughter, bringing her attention back up to his beautiful grey eyes. “I _knew_ it was you!”

“Knew _what_ was me?” She pretended to act clueless.

“All the Fire Nation clothes that _suddenly appeared in my closet,”_ He let out the tail ends of his bellowing laughter, feeling her glance down at his clothes.

 _“And so you denied me anyway.”_ The annoyance in her voice was thick, but more teasing and he let out a sigh. He always had to be careful about what he said to her.

“See, I’m trying this knew thing where I _don’t_ do everything that you want me to.” 

She punched his chest and he let out an exaggerated grunt at the force, soon turning his face down to her, brows knit together and laughed. She just scowled off into the distance, avoiding him completely. 

“You’re lucky we weren’t still on the stairs! I mean you nearly knocked me off my feet!” He warned, sincerely joking. Why was his good mood so infectious? She thought as she bit her lip, feeling him lean closer to her ear. _“That coulda been the end for us…”_ And she couldn't do it anymore, her laugh erupting like a volcano. She literally curled into him, clutching at the front of his shirt and practically gasping for air as he joined her with his own deep laugh that set her off even more. Listening to her and making sure they didn’t fall, still holding onto her tightly, he realised he had never heard her laugh. Truly laugh. And there was something triumphant in the fact that he was the one who drew it out of her.

 _“You aren’t even funny!”_ She wheezed into him, head on his shoulder for support, the struggle to stop absolutely impossible to overcome. Azula had never felt joy like this; pure and unmarred joy that didn’t come from the defeat of an enemy, but from the stupid and completely irrelevant comment he had made about their apparent near death. The more she thought about it, the funnier it became and the louder she laughed. “Stop! Stop!” She chanted, breathless.

“I’m not doing anything!” He chuckled.

That seemed to set her off again, and he shook his head, continuing to her rooms with the biggest grin on his face, ignoring the girls who stopped and gaped at the sight, turning to their friends to whisper. Just like Azula said: they would talk. 

And just like Aang said:

Let them.

When he let her down, she stood with a wobble, holding his arm and expecting to feel the numbness in her legs again, but feeling fine. She was still holding his bicep though, his ridiculously toned, strong, _rock solid, huge, incredibly-_  
“Can you stand?” She shot a look up to him, hand immediately flying off his arm as she stood frozen on the spot. The first thing that came to Aang’s mind was that she looked more beautiful today than he had ever seen her.

“Yes,” She nodded briskly, inwardly cringing at how awkward she was being as she moved in front of him to open the door and he watched her with enough curiosity that she was able to feel it. 

“Great!” He said a little too loudly and his eyes went skyward in sheer embarrassment, arms crossing tight over his chest as she slowly opened the door. She couldn’t see when she turned to face him, but he was sliding his fingers across his palm in a bid to remove the feeling of holding her from his hands. To no avail, though, since the feel of any part of her body he had touched was etched into his mind forever.

“…Any Avatar duties today?”

The way she said it made it sound like the least important thing in the world. He shook his head, rocking back and forth on his heels, her eyes locked on the door she held wide open. “None. But I guess I could count saving you as an Avatar duty,” He teased and she scoffed at him.

“Oh, please. You did _not save me._ I would have-”

 _“Technically_ I saved you _twice.”_ He corrected and she felt the laughs bubbling in her chest again, avoiding his smile that would have definitely set her off. She settled for pointing a finger at him, biting back the happy smirk that tried to fight its way onto her face. 

_“Do not_ make me laugh again, I _swear_ to you.”

“I can’t promise anything.” He held his hands up in defense, and they went silent again. It wasn’t awkward. No. But it was far from comfortable as he stood there, inspecting the door-frame in great detail, an unasked question hanging in the air. He looked at her for a second, his eyes saying it all the moment their eyes finally met. _‘Can I come in?’_

 _‘Yes.’_ She answered silently, _instantly,_ and without a word spoken, moving to the side and holding the door open for him. Sliding past her easily, he crossed his arms again and looked around for a minute, hearing her shaky sigh and looking to the ground with a smirk, musing at how un-Azula like she was being around him today, drawing him in more than ever before. It was long before he broke the silence, eyes locked on one spot on the wall.

“I have a question.”

She had already shut the door behind her and was leaning against it, staring at the way his shirt hugged the muscles in his back far more than would be deemed appropriate. She had been staring at him since the moment he walked through the door, butterflies constantly in her stomach. “Ask away.” She felt the air in her lungs gather into a great ball that forced her to hold her breath in anticipation.

He sighed, shutting his eyes and fearing the worst. “What happened at dinner last night? When I was gone?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” He turned to her, the irritation in her voice making him, but that question would be for another day.

“Just tell me.”

“…Alright, _fine.”_ She complied, easier than usual, her arms now crossed like his though giving off a much more hostile vibe. “It seems that Water Tribe girl’s brother and his little friend have a hunch that there is something between us.” He shifted on his feet, the silence descending on them once again. 

There was. There definitely, _definitely was._ He just didn’t know what to say and so she huffed, looking to her right and away from him, that angry look staining her gorgeous features once again and his brows knit together at the biting tone of her voice when she spoke next. 

“I told them we were strictly sparring partners _only, so don’t worry.”_ She said, and he wondered if it was just his overactive imagination or did she sound… offended in some way? Offended that he didn’t say anything? Like the spirits confirmed his thoughts, she began tapping her foot, eyes on the floor. He uncrossed his arms and went to take a step forward, but hesitated. 

“Is that _really_ what you think?”

She exhaled loudly from her nose, shifting against the door. “You’d be a fool to think so.” His stomach dipped.

“Lucky I’m not a fool then.” He replied, the double meaning behind his words rendering slowly with her. And the foot tapping stopped, her eyes slowly rising to those steel grey ones she found herself dreaming of - day and night - a rush of something... adrenaline, washing over her. 

_“Aang…”_ She said. And spirits… the way she breathed his name like that. _Aang - not Avatar._ Not _anything else_ had him walking towards her in a split-second, his hands framing her face and his lips crashing against hers so hard that her head hit the door. And he tried to pull back to apologise but she was returning the kiss so eagerly that he couldn’t. It was like some invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders, sliding her hands around his torso as he lodged her between the door and his body; a body that felt so much like a missing puzzle piece finally slipping into place when she pressed herself against him.

They were breathing through their noses, his lips soft enough to melt her heart and harsh enough to make her go weak at the knees. The way she had imagined his kiss, and how he was kissing her now were two completely different things. However she wasn’t complaining… no, _she definitely was not complaining._ It was unlike _anything_ she had _ever imagined_ \- better than she even thought _possible._  
She was pulling him down to her hungrily, tilting her head, their lips molding together with perfect synchronisation, draining the tension that had been building inside and between them since the first moment they laid eyes on one another and finally putting it to use, giving in to their urges, and he felt he could kiss her for the rest of time. Her lips were like velvet, sliding against his like they had been there before and his hand moved around to cradle her head, hair still wet as he pulled her against his lips harshly. The whimper that came from her lips on instinct triggered something within him, though; a signal that things had went far enough. It was a kiss that left her breathless when he pulled away, her hands still gripping his neck and his hands still cupping her cheek and cradling her head as she slowly opened her eyes to see him looking at her now with half-lidded eyes. Her lips tingled, her skin ablaze, his eyes on fire as he caught his breath, stormy grey orbs darting between deep amber and one hand gently brushed a lock of her soaked hair behind her ear.

She was panting. But the look on his face halted her breathing and she frowned up at him. He looked-

“I’m sorry… I had to do that.” He said quietly, the rise and fall of his chest in time with her labored breaths and then the touch of his hands was gone like that. She found herself unable to speak, mouth wide open and searching for words as she moved out of the way for him, watching as he opened the door and left. The heat that had risen to the surface of her cheeks had went unnoticed as the princess tried to recover, a hand lying on her chest feeling her frantically beating heart.

 _Nothing_ she could think of compared to this feeling. _It was indescribable._

Azula hated it.

*******

Sleep didn’t come easy for either of them. It was only after plenty of tossing and turning, disheveled sheets tangling in their limbs, that dreams of one another filled their long nights rest to the brim – dreams far too vivid to forget; dreams that would ultimately cause the pair to awaken early the next morning with a gasp, finding their separate bed sheets in very similar states. 

All of this after just one kiss.

Sleep to the Fire Lord, however, was a mere concept. Only the idea of closing one’s eyes and drifting into the land of the unconscious existed. Sleep as a physical occurrence, for Zuko, didn’t exist. Not tonight. And what was the reason? 

Katara.

Not the chance of an assassination attempt; not the stress of finalising plans for republic city; not the tension between him and his so called best friend or the paranoia of his sister lurking in the shadows. Just the fact she had left the comfort of their bed, in hopes that he wouldn’t notice, after a whole day of distance between them that forced him to settle in bed with his back to her. To face away from each other, a wedge between them that he didn’t understand. Maybe she thought he was sleeping, or maybe she assumed her abrupt leave wouldn’t result in him following her even if he was awake, thinking his fear of rejection, after last night, would keep him in bed. If that was what she thought, she was dead wrong.

It hadn’t been long since she left him, her side of the bed still warm when he smoothed over the sheets with his hand, sadness making the move slow as he let out a heavy sigh. What had happened between them? It’s barely been a week and already cracks were beginning to show - much quicker than expected under normal circumstances. It was this notion that led him to believe something had happened; possibly, between her and Aang. He got out of bed, rehearsing what he would ask her over in his head for the short time it would take him to find her. If what he suspected was true, Zuko wouldn’t allow himself the luxury of lashing out at Aang. He would accept the fact as his karma. Zuko knew, plain as day that the day would eventually come where he would have to pay his dues, though maybe that day was closer than he thought. There was a chance the time was now. But he wouldn’t be Angry with Aang. He wouldn’t allow himself to be. Whatever was happening between himself and Katara right now would stay between them, and he would accept whatever outcome with as much pride as possible. Even from the beginning he thought the idea of Katara devoting herself to him was a far stretch; though it was a risk he was willing to take. In his mind, she loved him, and he loved her… but Katara’s love for Aang was stronger than anything in this world, and Zuko hated that thought. 

Though, hate it or not, _it was still true._ No matter how much he tried to deny the connection that still lingered between Aang and Katara, it was still there - even if she gave herself to Zuko physically. Physically wasn’t enough. Physically, she was tricking herself into believing the illusion of a possible love, the illusion of moving on from someone she didn’t need to, and didn’t necessarily want to move on from. 

Walking from their room to the lounge of his quarters, the slight chill of the midnight breeze caught his attention before the sight of her did. She was sitting cross-legged in-front of the open balcony door and his heart skipped a beat for all the wrong reasons: she was meditating just like Aang, the wind blowing through her hair, his element completely surrounding her while Zuko stood mere feet away. And as if she sensed his presence, she broke the silence. “I don’t want to do this, Zuko, _not now.”_ Her voice was heavy with tears already shed. Zuko gulped, feeling how little his presence was wanted and cringed at the thought.

“… By ‘this’, you mean… what, exactly?” He questioned and she looked down at her lap, breathing in deeply through her nose, keeping it together. 

The silence was a long one, and when she spoke, she completely disregarded his question. 

“I’m leaving.”

His whole body stiffened, breath and voice stuck in a rock hard lump in his throat. He paled instantly, his golden eyes growing wider with each second that her words resonated with him. The feeling of helplessness washed over him like a tidal wave and in that instant he didn’t know what to do. What to say. What would happen once she left him? Refusing to believe her, refusing to think about why exactly she wanted to get away, to leave him, he shook his head and let his arms fall limp to his side. If anyone saw the look on his face, they wouldn’t see the Fire Lord, but they would see a weak man falling apart at the seams – all because of two words and the emotionless way in which they had been spoken. “You… you’re leaving? You’re…” Her shoulders began to shake at the broken way he spoke. And suddenly, a burst of rage contorted his features and drove his nails to bite into his palms. “No! You can’t just… _no!-”_

“Why not?!” She flung around to him, hands digging into the ground as tears welled in her eyes, the wind blowing her hair forward and around her face. “You can’t force me to stay!”

“I shouldn’t _have to!”_ She reared back at the truth in his words, his feet taking him a few steps closer to her. “This is… Katara, what changed? I don’t understand why you’ve been keeping your distance all of a sudden, it makes _no sense!_ And now you tell me out of the blue that you’re _leaving?!”_

“I just… I… I don’t feel,” She stammered, avoiding what she knew she had to tell him. His frustration sky rocketed at her reluctance to speak and he glared at her, her frustration suddenly peaking at the look on his face. “Why are you interrogating me like this?!”

“Interrogating you? I’m addressing an issue with you like every normal couple does!”

“Well clearly under the circumstances, _we aren’t a normal couple, Zuko!_ I want to stop acting like we are! I want to stop acting like everything turned out how I hoped it would!” She bit back with a rage that matched his with an overshoot, but the confession in her words shocked him and she slumped back to the ground, realising what she just said. “Zuko, I-”

 _“Acting?”_ He repeated bitterly, feeling his control slip. “How you _hoped_ it would turn out? How long have you felt like this?” 

“Zuko, I didn’t mean it like-” She pleaded, but he wasn’t taking any of her bullshit.

“Yes you did mean it. Stop trying to back track and tell the truth _for once in your life.”_ He suddenly stopped yelling, though there was something more menacing, more angry now, more terrifying in his words… Katara scowled so deeply back at him that her beauty was marred completely and venom filled her mouth.

“That was a two way thing, Zuko. Don’t you _dare_ pin that on me!”

“I wasn’t in a relationship, _you were.”_ He hissed. “I didn’t force you to cheat on him,” She was shaking with anger, her jaw clenched shut as she dared him to say the words with her eyes. Dared him to continue. And when he did, it was like something broke between them permanently. “You decided to hurt him. That was _your decision-”_

“AND I REGRET IT MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW!” The tears were hot against her cheek when she screamed at him, and his face dropped. He couldn’t believe it… he couldn’t believe her. And yet a tiny part of him wasn’t surprised.

“…You… you regret us.” She turned away from him. _“Of course_ you do. So it was all an act.”

She shook her head and covered her face with her hands, and he almost laughed. “How could you be so selfish?” She brought her knees to her chest and sobbed. “When were you going to let me know you felt this way?”

“I don’t know,” He scoffed.

“…Oh, okay.” He bit back the sting of tears and took his eyes away from her back, the wind still blowing in her hair. That was when he remembered the question he wanted to ask her and he shut his eyes, fearing the answer. She felt it coming, her eyes locked on the horizon as she lifted her weary head. “… Did something happen between you two?”

“Yes.” She finally admitted, and he almost didn’t hear her, his stomach dipping and his eyes looking to the ceiling in an effort to keep the pools in his eyes from over flowing.

“When?” The pause was long, her sniffs filling the air.

“A few nights ago.”

“What happened?” He asked hastily, but she didn’t answer. The silence was deafening and he could feel his resolve fading, her motionless form and silence completely infuriating. “Spirit’s, Katara, at least tell me if you slept with him!”

“I didn’t… Aang wouldn’t. He would _never_ hurt someone like _we hurt _him.”_ She whispered back, determined not to tell him any more than that. It was enough information; he didn’t need to know any more than that._

__

His lip was beginning to tremble. “So you tried to.” He realised, and even though the words hadn’t been spoken, he knew it was over. He didn’t even know what had been real in their relationship anymore. Everything was real for him, but he didn’t even know who Katara was at this moment in time. “You still love him.” He stated, and the way she stayed silent and completely still, brown waves flowing in the wind, was enough of a ‘yes’ for him. Zuko didn’t think he would have been able to handle actually hearing the word from her lips, so he was actually, in some way, happy she didn’t answer. 

__

Though her answer for his next question, the furrow between his brows concrete as he stared out at the inky black sky, would matter so much more; it would make or break him - let him know if their relationship had been one giant lie at the expense of the three of them, let him know if it was a huge waste of time – and he swallowed hard. 

__

Her mouth went incredibly dry. 

__

“…Do you love me?” She didn’t answer, but this time the silence was different and his frown deepened, the overwhelming feeling of disappointment making his stomach turn, the tears blurring his vision inevitably falling to his cheeks when he asked again, harsher; sterner in the way he asked. “Do you love me, Katara?” And this time, she looked away; hugging her knees closer to her chest and the silent tears glistened down her cheeks when she heard the slightest sob break from his lips. It was over, and his next words hit her like a brick wall. “Then what was the point of it all?”

__

She sobbed and he took one last look at her shuddering shoulders, the wind now biting into his skin as he forced himself to turn around and walk away from her. The tightness in his chest forced him to breathe choppy breaths, the tears threatening to come again as he made his way back to his bed for a sleepless night, and at that moment Zuko wondered how much _worse_ Aang had felt. 

__

Guilt flooded his veins and he dropped to the ground, wishing he could take it all back just like she did.

__

~

__


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR ANY SQUEAMISH READERS: THE END OF THIS CHAPTER MAY BE A BIT MUCH  
> Unless you want a spoiler, don't go to end notes

“Are you _sure_ it’s necessary?” Asked Aang at last.

“I know from your _initial_ perspective, it may seem unimportant… but to the citizens of the Fire Nation, the annual ball marks a time of togetherness and peace. They find that it… that it _blurs_ the _line_ between the social classes and helps our Nation come together as _one;_ they see it as a way to challenge the difference between a Royal and a commoner.” Zuko gave a lazy nod of agreement - the nicest he’d seemed from the beginning of the meeting, Aang noticed. Though he only had one thought while listening to this stuffy old man - _what a crock of_ bullshit. “Surely _you_ can understand a celebration of _harmony_ and _balance_ between the people of _any_ Nation, _Avatar Aang?”_

Aang sighed. Despite his initial hopes, he realised they had each and every detail (truth or not) worked out to support why this ball should happen. What the elder had explained made total sense, even though it was all lies.

Aang was entirely reluctant to have his name - or his title, more like it - slapped on yet another public event in order to ensure as many nobles attended as possible. The council could tell him whatever they wanted, but he wasn’t stupid - it was all just a ploy to get their names out there in some way. However, it wasn’t like Aang could just call them out on it, for the council was smart, too: they would know just what to say or do in order to shut him down, and there was no point in Aang taking such a risk because of a stupid ball. Though he would still slip his opinion in… by subtle means. “I do. But that _still_ doesn’t explain why it has to be held in _my name?”_ The old man looked like he was about to snap back, Aang giving him a small, knowing smile, though he was interrupted before anything could escalate.

“It is simply a gesture of our appreciation.” One of the sages across from him added and Aang could do nothing but give him a delicate nod, the elder man still eyeing him angrily.

It was funny how, when speaking with the council over pompous matters such as this one, almost every word was an act, or a sly dig covered up with a joyful tone and sickeningly sweet smile. Aang made his best effort to appear thankful - it was all in the face, and it worked every time. “I’m grateful that you are willing to go to such lengths to show your gratitude, but perhaps a ball in the Fire Lord’s name, the _leader_ of your nation, would make more sense?” The sage was looking a little hot under the collar, not really knowing what to say next. It was all Aang could do not to grin in triumph: maybe he would win this battle? Trying to slip the spotlight onto his _dear old friend_ had been solid reasoning that was hard to fight against _,_ but when a young man Aang didn’t recognise opened his mouth, he got the awful feeling that he would have nowhere to go.

Today was this young man’s first time attending - meaning he hadn’t yet learned the truth of how things actually worked in the council - and it seemed he was actually brave enough to speak before being spoken to. Aang didn’t mind, obviously. It was the other (rather traditional) councilmen and, of course, the Fire Lord, who would, with distaste, notice this confidence so early on in the job and try to snuff it out.

Aang admired his courage enough to let this victory slip. Would Aang even be Aang without letting his humanity get in the way at _some_ point?

He listened patiently. “Celebrating a nation’s coming together is reminiscent of you restoring balance to the world, Avatar Aang. It is a way of remembering your tenacity, carrying the four nations on your shoulders and back into an era of unity and love. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have the luxury of celebrations such as this one, and for that, we will _never_ be able to repay you.” The whole room went silent and it was then that Aang’s smile, for the first time during the whole meeting, had actually been genuine. It was the first time, in a long time, that out-and-out truth had been spoken from a council member.

“Thank you for your kind words,” He gave a bow; a proper bow that really meant thanks to this considerate young man. Aang had almost forgotten these kinds of people existed. It was probably for the best that Aang didn’t catch Zuko rolling his eyes. “But you must remember it was my duty. Do not think that you have to repay me at all. Though if you insist, I think the ball could be a perfect opportunity to spread the word about Republic City.” And before he sat down, he threw daggers at the elder who was revelling in his ‘victory’ with a smug grin.

It almost hurt to agree to this stupid thing, but he did. For the new guy.

The men nodded before sitting back down in their seats, all eyes returning to Zuko who had been a complete moper since early-morning to midday. Aang just eyed him with a narrow stare, noticing the lazy way he was slumped back in his chair, rolling some trinket between his fingers with his forelimb slack on the armrest as he scanned every mans’ eyes around the large table in the throne room with a burning impatience.

“Well?” Zuko paused. “Are we all _finally_ caught up on the plans for this ball tomorrow night?” He sneered patronisingly. It was when his eyes landed finally on the youngest of them all that he halted his fidgeting, the smell of fear rolling off his body thick in Zuko’s nose. The young man, who had just expressed his admiration to Aang with dark hair stopping at his shoulders, swallowed hard under Zuko’s pinning stare. _“Are we?”_ He repeated, slowly.

“Uh… y-yes, Fire Lord Zuko.”

Zuko eyed him for a moment too long, the boy glancing quickly to Aang as if seeking help, but all Aang could do was give him a reassuring smile. The other council members were quickly realising that Zuko was in one of his _moods_ – one that made him cold and merciless. “Very well.” He finally said while sitting a little straighter and the young boy instantly relaxed. However, it didn’t seem Zuko was done yet. Aang followed him with his gaze when he got to his feet, honey eyes still on the boy with features of stone, completely devoid of emotion. That was when it hit him. That was when Aang was reminded of someone; someone who was rotting in a cell and had been doing so for six years. The thought was unnerving.

_Now_ he was listening, sure he wouldn’t get to see the outside of the throne room for another while yet because Aang, the Avatar, was not going to let this go.

Zuko spoke up at last, and his words echoed through the room with a chill strong enough to make hairs stand on end. Enough to make Aang’s fists clench. “Next time you speak to me with a stutter, consider yourself off the council. The same goes for speaking out of turn. I hope I’m making myself clear?”

There was a silent gasp around the table, the boy not knowing what to say or do, far too afraid to move even the smallest muscle. “…Forgive me, Lord Zuko,” His adviser spoke up hesitantly, and Zuko’s head snapped towards him, a heavy scowl weighing down his features. “But don’t you think that’s a little-”

“Meeting adjourned.” He snapped, cutting off the man with a glare that told him to go no further unless he wished to lose _his_ position - the man who now shrunk under his authority,stood to his feet and bowed.

It caused a ripple effect, the scrape of chairs against the floor usually music to the Avatar’s ears, though quite different this time.

Aang, almost always the first one out, was still sat in his chair next to the Fire Lord’s. The mass of black and gold robes invaded his peripheral vision as Zuko stayed standing, that trinket frantically moving between his fingers as he watched the room empty with shuffling feet and timid murmurs. All this while Aang got comfortable, his chin tucked into his chest as he frowned down at his robes and raised an arrowed hand to straighten out the ripples. Zuko was, contrary to belief, well aware of Aang’s lasting presence. “Didn’t you hear me?” The man almost growled and Aang turned his head up to him, giving no impression of moving.

“I did.” He began softly. “And… do forgive me if I offend you,” He held up his hands in defence, earning a hard stare filled with what seemed like repulsion. Ozai’s face flashed behind Aang’s eyes and he tried not to flinch. “…I am questioning whether or not you heard yourself, because your anger towards that young man was needless and petty. You were speaking like everyone here was beneath you and you sounded completely disinterested in any and everything we discussed. Zuko- or, _Fire Lord_ Zuko, I’m beginning to think you’re losing your sense of self.”

Zuko scoffed, turning his head. “You sound like my mother.”

Aang’s expression transformed in a split second and he got to his feet, dropping any attempt to go about this nicely, dropping the pretence of telling a child the difference between right and wrong, grey eyes absolute in their ominous stare when he opened his mouth. “The only reason being that you sounded like your _father.”_ The look in his eyes would have scared anyone into backing down; anyone into listening; anyone into questioning what it was they had done wrong because even though his features were set and unwavering, the warning look in his eyes and the controlled way he spoke was absolutely unmistakeable as a threat.

Zuko’s eyes had glazed over, a long pause between them as his features fell into a pit of disbelief. “You know _nothing_ of my father.”

“I know enough of him, Zuko, I fought him. I felt the very energy within of him.” He replied sternly. “Whatever it is that’s making you so angry and upset, don’t succumb to it. Promise me. Don’t turn into your father because of things like a girl and… well, you know what else.” Zuko swallowed hard, staring at the ground, the prick of tears behind his eyes a little difficult to fight. It was like he had been in a trance for the whole meeting, because he truly, honestly, didn’t think he had stepped out of line. Ever. Though, despite their feud, he trusted Aang’s judgement.

“I won’t.”

Aang nodded. “I hope not. For your sake _and_ mine.”

Still, however, tension hung in the air. Not because of Katara, but because of something else. Zuko was anxious about the ball… all of those people he didn’t know flooding in… and for good reason.

Aang looked to his feet. “Zuko… about the ball…”

The way he clenched his jaw, putting on a brave face, did nothing at all to hide the fear that lay behind golden eyes. A fear that, although left unspoken about, caught the Avatar’s attention when those eyes looked away sharply, denying the cold hard truth.

Zuko was scared.

“I think it would be wise to up the security-”

“No!” He replied sharply, suddenly turning furious. It was a horrible trait of his, to be more stubborn than _anything else._ Even though his instincts told him one thing, he let relentless fear towards his father call the shots. “More security here means less security over the there! I’m _not_ risking it!”

Aang believed it was a risk worth taking, but he bit his tongue. “Okay.” He agreed, calmly but with the utmost reluctance, though it didn’t matter: Zuko’s word was final. Aang gave him one last look before taking his leave. “I really hope you’ve thought this through, Fire Lord Zuko, for _all_ of our sakes. Not only our own.”

****

The princess would never get used to taking care of simple tasks herself, no matter how much time had passed since her return to the palace. Taking away the most of her privileges had been a worse punishment than banishment itself, Azula thought as she sat before her vanity mirror and tightened the sash around her middle, eyes drifting up to take a long, hard look at her reflection. And, unfortunately, she noticed the soaking wet tresses framing her face needed _more_ handling than she first assumed.

Heavy with displeasure, the woman let out a long sigh. She had never been good with hair: it was a task always taken care of by her personal servants - a plus side to being the shining princess of the (utter garbage) Royal family - before her brother and that _pitiful_ peasant defeated her. A moment of sheer luck on their part and, well… insanity on hers (no matter how much she disliked admitting to that fact). Though she supposed it was a better explanation for her downfall than her complete lack of focus and control.

She sighed again, hating how her mind took her down memory lane when all she wanted to do was brush her stupid hair and get dressed for the day.

Hand hovering over the brush, she contemplated crawling back into her freshly made bed. But the thought was quickly dismissed as she forced herself to lift the deceivingly heavy thing, take a handful of hair and begin brushing the tatty ends. Soon after she began, she had slowed to a stop as a drip of water trickled down her thumb, her palm, her wrist and disappeared under the wide sleeve of her robe while leaving a glistening trail in its wake. She threw the brush down with a wild frustration as her mind did that thing again and made her remember against her will, and she crossed her arms over the surface of her vanity to give herself a place to rest her head. She was trying furiously to push him from her mind, but it was hard. Too hard. Impossible, even, her eyes shutting so tightly it hurt and the bite of her nails digging into the skin of her upper arms through her robe only getting worse by the second. Although… his hands in her soaking wet hair distracted from the stinging pain. No matter how hard she tried to dismiss the memory of his body pressed against hers in the most _luscious_ manner, in a way that made her want to run into his arms right this instant, she found that her will to do so was weaker than she thought. Aang was corrupting her.

How was it that a drip of water summoned the feel of his lips against hers so effortlessly?

She shot her head up to see herself once more, hair now more untidy than the moment she sat down and she decided then and there, regardless of the extent at which she wanted to feel his kiss again, she would avoid him. At every single turn, she would avoid him. If he was infiltrating her mind like this then the princess decided that this was _enough._ She was losing control while not even in his presence, and her mind drifted to imagine what would happen if he managed to look her in the eye today.

Surely, her knees would give way.

Azula also wondered if he was in a similar state. If he had been knocked off of his feet as much as she had been. If he, too, had dreamed about her last night. If he wanted to kiss her again… or if he regretted it.

_‘I’m sorry… but I had to do that.’_

_‘I’m sorry’_

Why was he sorry? If he was apologetic then why on earth did he kiss her in the first place? Why would he be so selfish as to make her think one thing and then another at the exact same time? She slammed her hand on the flat polished mahogany surface with an astounding bang, pushing herself to her feet and hearing the screech of the chair against the wooden floor ring unpleasantly in her ears.

_Why_ had he kissed her? What did any of this mean? The princess was beyond confusion, she was beyond frustration and was slap bang in the middle of fury. _No one_ would make the princess of the Fire Nation feel so conflicted. No one. _Not_ even the _Avatar._

She changed her mind. The princess stormed straight to her bed and climbing in without caring that her hair was still wet and that it would soak the sheets and lay on her side, curling up like a helpless child.

All she could think about for the entirety of the time she spent there staring into space was the Avatar. Seeing past the flume of smoke that stank of pointless rage towards him was, annoyingly, something she was far too stubborn to do, but yet again that growing knot in her stomach, when she thought of him kissing her, was powerful enough to break down every quality she knew to be hers and replaced them with joy and happiness and… and everything she was not. Or everything she wasn’t _supposed_ to be.

Enough of her cold and absolutely rigid personality remained, however, to keep her in her bed. _Not_ enough, however, to stop her from secretly wishing he would come and seek her out - possibly with _more_ than just a _pleasant hello._

***

With careful and steady moves, making sure not to let the ink drip, Aang signed off yet another invitation. “Here’s another one.” This one was for Mai and her parents. He let out a relieved sigh as soon as he lifted the brush from the paper and slowly placed it back on the ink stone. The older man who sat at a workbench just to the left of him, currently prepping the invitations for send-off by messenger hawk, perked up at Aang’s voice and hurried over with his palms out prepared to hold it with the utmost delicacy. Aang tried not to laugh at the ridiculously formal way the man was acting. Peoples’ constant formality towards him as the Avatar was grating, but he learned to accept it.

“Thank you.” The man bowed far too low. “You’ll be glad to know this one was the last.”

Aang relaxed, unaware that signing over fifty formal invitations for a select few noble families in the Fire Nation, those of whom had been deemed _‘worthy enough to receive written acknowledgement from the Avatar himself’_ (Aang inwardly cringed when the man had said that), would be such a strained task. He was just glad to be getting off his ass after what felt like hours, watching the man walk at a snail's pace back to his working bench as he straightened out his robes with a little stretch that made his voice sound a little strained. “Then if you don’t mind, I’d better get going.”

The man turned with a wide grin. “Oh, not at all! Enjoy the rest of your day, Avatar.”

“You, too,” Aang replied with a polite nod and walked out the door with no destination in mind. Right now, he had nowhere to be.

Once he was sure to be out of sight, he allowed his posture to drop into something a little more Aang and a lot less Avatar, except his mind still lay on the morning’s meeting: he couldn’t come to terms with how big this ball would be. With over fifty invitations being sent to a select few and the rest of the public free to attend if their hearts so desired, Aang expected the palace to be packed. Rather big social gatherings like this one weren’t a problem for him in terms of the magnitude; it was the constant pestering by those who wanted to speak with the Avatar as soon as an opening presented itself that bothered him. The constant flow of awestruck stereotypes - some seeking power, some status, and some, young women (and the odd time, men), completely and utterly infatuated with him - it was a feat he had come to expect and to loathe with a smile on his face nonetheless. Aang’s stomach turned on the spot, and he actually stopped walking, when he realised how many more there would be throwing themselves at him now that word of him and Katara splitting had ‘spread like wildfire’ as Sokka had so lightly put it.

However selfish as the revelation may seem, Aang realised that spending time with the princess could protect him from the prying hands and eyes and words belonging to those who failed to understand the concept of personal space. As the saying goes, it would be like killing two birds with one stone: avoid fakery by spending time with a woman you can’t seem to stop thinking about.

See… it wasn’t that he didn’t _want_ to see Azula, he just wasn’t particularly excited to find out how she felt, which was something he’d be able to deduce after just one look at her. From how his day had been going so far (awful, to say the least), the obvious lack of honey eyes and perfume so unique that Aang couldn’t quite describe its scent, led him to believe she was, in fact, avoiding him. Just like he guessed she would.

He felt that familiar flutter in his stomach when he pondered if it would be a good idea to check on her. Besides, she hadn’t been innocent in her countless unannounced arrivals.

Though the idea was quickly dismissed as downright idiotic. If she wanted space, he would allow her that much; no matter how much the memory of their kiss demanded his attention during moments of boredom, or how often the sound of her desperate sigh had played over in his head in the silence, or how frequently the image of her flushed cheeks (that were so uncharacteristically Azula) when he left her breathless flashed behind his, eyes every time he blinked for a millisecond too long.

Ever since _he_ had left _her._

Every instinct at the time told him to take what he wanted but he left her anyway.

Despite what it was, and despite what it seemed like, Aang didn’t see his leaving as a missed opportunity, but rather a way to show her respect and to show her she was more than the source of his lust. More than the means by which he could satiate his ever-deepening hunger. He wanted to really _know_ her more before he gave in to his darkest most primal instincts she pulled to the surface any time she did _anything._ No matter what it looked like to anyone watching from the outside, she intrigued him _beyond_ pointed nails and voluptuous curves. _Far_ beyond anything of the _sort._ He had to get to know her. The real her; under all the ice.

But, regrettably so, Aang imagined that his reasons for stopping their kiss would have meant quite the opposite to the princess who knew nothing of this type of respect being paid towards her; most likely explaining why she was avoiding him. The woman had never experienced any kind of respect but that which had been tainted by fear or some other emotion devoid of the purity he possessed.

Aang wanted to change that fact. He didn’t entirely know why, but he did know that nothing would stand in his way if it meant she could finally, _truly,_ realise her worth. Realise she was wanted. Realise she was worthy of redemption, because sometimes when he looked at her, spoke with her, thought about her… he wasn’t sure she deemed herself worthy of much.

Azula was many things: confident, crude, cold - all of these qualities, and more, a mask, one fabricated with care over the difficult years of her life. In spite of that, Aang was beginning to see through it like a plane of glass, like a sheet of ice set to never thaw. With as much effort necessary, he would thaw that facade, if only a little.

Beneath it all, her shield of ice, her screen of frosted glass, Aang could see she cared.

Suddenly, snapping him right out of his thoughts, one of the palace servants stopped him after what seemed like multiple attempts, his heavy breathing a sure sign he had been following Aang's blind steps through the palace for some time now. “Avatar… Aang,”

It was when Aang slowed to a stop, at last giving the man his full attention, that he prostrated himself.

“Do forgive me… for interrupting your thoughts.”

“There is nothing to forgive.” He shook his head, feeling a little dazed. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing at all.” He piped up, finally having caught his breath. “The Fire Lord and your friends are just wondering if you will be joining them for dinner, Lord Avatar.”

Aang blinked twice: once for the name, and two for - “Dinner? What time is it?”

“It is around seven, my Lord.” Again. The name. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Alright. No need to let them know, I’ll be right over. Thank you.” The man gave another bow before Aang moved off, but an idea stopped him in his tracks. “Actually,”

“Yes?” He replied eagerly.

“Could you accompany me, by any chance?” The man perked up instantly. “I have something I need you to do for me.”

“Of course. Anything at all.”

***

_Why is it that no one in this damn palace listens to me anymore?!_

It was after what must have been the fourth round of incessant knocking, the servant deliberately ignoring her pleas to leave her alone, that she finally dragged herself from her bed and wiped away whatever traces of tears still wet her cheeks. The door was thrown open so fast it blew her hair back over her shoulders.

“What? What do you want?” Her nails bit into the mahogany wood as she stared the little man down, so blinded by rage it took her a full minute to notice the trolly in front of him holding a tray with a metal cloche and… surprisingly a pitcher of water. Not a pot of tea.

When she snapped her head back to the pathetic little man, he was bowing to her lowly and trembling as he spoke. “I-I didn’t mean to disturb you, your H-Highness, but-”

“What is the meaning of this? If my memory serves me right, I don’t remember ordering anything of the sort.” The princess spat out.

“It was Lord Avatar Aang,” He said, and she found she couldn’t breathe all of a sudden. “He insisted I bring this meal to your chambers and… to make sure that you take it.”

She laughed through her nose. _What a_ coward. _He didn’t even have the courage to deliver the meal himself._

_If he’s a coward, then what does that make you? You deliberately avoided him. At least he made an effort to-_ “Alright!”

The man jumped at her sudden outburst. He didn’t know she was shouting at herself, and the look of fear in his eyes wasn’t as satisfying for the princess to see as it used to be.

She cleared her throat, awkwardly, hoping he would choose to forget her momentary lapse of sanity and took the tray swiftly. “Thank you.” The man bowed his head timidly, waiting for her to leave so he could too. But she didn’t move. She had one last thing to say. “You can tell the Avatar I am not amused. At _all._ And that he should grow a pair.”

The servant’s brown eyes grew wide. “… T-that would be-”

“You will do as I say. Now get _out_ of my _sight.”_

“V-very well, your Highness.” He stuttered, prostrating himself. She turned on cue and slammed the door with her foot.

When she looked at the tray in her hands, however, she found herself needing to take a deep breath. Why had he done _this?_ And why on earth was it making her feel so… so, _giddy?!_ Like a damn teenager! One thing she noticed right away, with a shallow satisfaction, was that he picked up on the fact she didn’t like tea. She didn’t remember telling him so, but he knew; that’s what mattered. She didn’t know why such a small, minute detail mattered at all to her, but it did. Maybe it was because the servants, whose _job_ it was to remember, still didn’t seem to pick up on the fact she hated the vile drink and had the audacity to serve her a whole pot of it. Each and every time.

But _Aang_ knew. Somehow, Aang remembered.

She also found out, legs curled beneath her by the low table in her living room as she lifted the cloche, that he either _knew_ or _guessed_ that her favourite dish was Komodo chicken. And it smelled absolutely _delicious._ She hadn’t eaten all day and she supposed he had put two and two together and figured that out for himself, thanks to her obvious absence, which was more than she could say for anyone else in this dreadful place.

It was nice to have someone who still thought of her as a human being.

The steam was coming off the dish in hot waves, much like the sudden irritation she felt pouring from her skin and she gripped the cloche so hard her hand hurt. Why was he treating her like this? Why was he being kind to _her?_

_Oh, Azula… are you really that oblivious?_

Her fingers loosened, and she put down the cloche and decided to take the gesture for what it was. An act of kindness. Just… kindness. Nothing more. She didn’t have the energy to over analyse after a full day of doing just that - the princess didn’t have any frustrated tears left to cry.

And it really did smell delicious, her stomach growling. Rising a little higher on her knees she took the bowl into her hands and breathed in the aroma like it was something to be savoured, her eyes drifting to a close on instinct as she remembered the parts of her childhood that brought only bliss. It happened to be that almost all of those memories included her brother in some way: like now as she reminisced over one, frosty night, so many years ago that it made Azula feel older than her age, Zuko shivering but Azula sitting strong. Fire benders were nothing if they gave in to the cold, so she didn’t; no matter how much her skin stung in the biting air of their home on Ember Island. It was then that their mother came with a particular dish that promised to warm them up completely. A dish perfect for the winter as Azula found out that cold night. Yet here she was on a mild summers evening, basking in the smell of her childhood, uncaring that the spice would be less than convenient in the heat. She didn’t mind. Eating it always made her somewhat… content. She wouldn’t say ‘happy’ for Azula, the princess of the Fire Nation, was never _happy._

It was when her eyes, at last, fluttered open, looking for and finding the polished metal chopsticks from the tray that she finally saw the piece of parchment folded neatly where the bowl once sat. And her heart skipped a beat.

Faster than lighting, the bowl was back in its place and she was frantically opening the piece of paper. When it opened, the creases harsh against the script, her first thought was that his handwriting was beautiful.

_**I’m trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow and I was wondering if you would help me decide? Nothing Fire Nation, however: it is a ball in my name. P.S. I hope you’re hungry.** _

_**Aang** _

Her heart was racing for reasons she didn’t fully understand. Like how was she supposed to help him if she didn’t know where to find him? No, what was she thinking? She was supposed to be avoiding him! Or maybe it was a rhetorical question..? The princess couldn’t quite decipher his reason for leaving such a note but It certainly had an effect on her. She hadn’t even touched her food yet and her cheeks were already burning.

After reading his words with butterflies in her stomach for what felt like the millionth time, it hit her: she didn’t have a gown yet.

Aang probably knew that, too. He knew _everything,_ it seemed.

Wait…

_‘Nothing Fire Nation, however’_

Was he trying to imply she wear something of his culture, as well? Who did he think he was?!

At the same time, in the dining room below, Aang was wondering if she had received his note yet, just finishing up with his own food.

The atmosphere had been… dry, to say the least. Katara had been in the city all day, probably prepping for the ball, so it was only Aang, Zuko, Toph and Sokka. Not even Sokka had it in him to crack a joke at the groggy Fire Lord.

Aang was glad he was a quick eater.

Just as he pushed out his chair, the servant from earlier approached him with what seemed like a nervous air about him. He bowed. “A message… of sorts, from princess Azula, Lord Avatar.” Zuko’s head shot up.

Sokka snorted. _“Lord Avatar?”_ The man arched an eyebrow at Sokka quizzically and it took everything in Aang not to snort as well. Instead, he cleared his throat.

“Go on.” He pursued.

“She said… well, she said she w-wasn’t amused.”

“That was expected.” Aang nodded, an entertained smirk gracing his lips, but the silent way the man opened and closed his mouth made it clear to Aang there was more. “And what else?”

“…Forgive me for my lack of propriety, a-and her Highness’s, but she said to tell you… to tell you that… well… I can't quite put this in a more-”

The Fire Lord had had enough of his mumbling. “Oh for spirit's sake will you just spit it out, Lee!” He didn’t actually know if his name was Lee, but it was a good guess. And he actually answered to it.

“Yes, Fire Lord!” He looked to be under some stress and turned quickly to Aang again, who had a brow arched. “She said you need to grow a pair, Lord Avatar. I’m so sorry.” He finally admitted, and all but two fell into a frozen state. All but The Avatar and The Blind Bandit.

The two who were now laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.

****

That last thought she had had didn’t stop her from eating, but it did drive her to her feet in anger.

“Tell _me_ what to do…” Azula huffed, sitting at her writing desk and plucking a fresh piece of parchment from a pile, weighing it to the surface with sloppy moves. “Who does he think he is?!”

_You’ve got this all wrong-_

“Shut up!” She clutched the calligraphy brush, tight in hand as if to threaten the voice of reason in her head that she so often ignored. “There is no way! Do you hear me? No way!”

_But there is, Azula. He isn’t trying to get to you. He isn’t trying to change you despite what you think. You’re reading into this too much. He just wanted to see you._

She gritted her teeth and coated the brush in pitch black as a sorry attempt to distract.

_Don’t you see? You can trust him._

“I can’t trust _anyone!”_ She hissed. “No one! Not _one soul!_ And I’ll be _damned_ before I let him compromise my mentality! He’ll just make a fool of me in the end! Don’t _you_ see? He’s doing it _right now!”_

_Azula…_

She was out of breath. And there was ink all over the page. She was slipping. She didn’t know what she was saying or what she was doing. She didn’t know what time it was what day it was what year it was or why she was crying or why her mother was trying to convince her to trust the Avatar in the middle of the war but she knew one thing.

He would know how she felt _._ And she hadn’t taken her medication.

***

_**How brave of you.** _

_**I’m sorry, but it appears I have better things to do than play dress up with a bald monk. P.S. Don’t tell me what to do. Ever.** _

_**Your Superior: Azula, Daughter of Ozai and Princess of the Fire Nation - if you have forgotten.** _

“Whatcha got there?” Sokka slurred past a piece of apple in his mouth.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s uh…” To show him or not? Aang had received her reply early that morning, and he was in the middle of quite a dilemma. Who better than Sokka to help a guy out? “Just… _read this.”_ He sighed, his head fried.

Sokka took the seat beside him on the stone bench, comfortably secluded in gardens without question and snapped up the piece of paper while holding his apple between his teeth. As time went on, his eyes grew ever wider.

Aang laughed at the look on his friends face. “Either I’m really bad at this… or she has a _weird_ way of flirting.”

“I mean,” He began after whipping the fruit out of his mouth, eyeing the thing sceptically before taking another hefty bite accompanied by a loud slurp. “Id gud be ‘er ding?” He said with his mouth too full to make sense. Aang was used to it, though, he could translate.

Sokka was still looking at the page, but Aang was looking at him dumbfounded. “…It could be her thing?”

“Yeah,” He swallowed. “Like, maybe she likes to take the lead in the-” He stopped when he caught a glimpse of Aang’s face, and that’s when he remembered Aang wouldn’t know. His only partner had been his sister. And Sokka was suddenly glad Aang didn’t know. “Okay, Aang, it’s time we had a little talk.”

Aang’s face deadpanned.

“In mature relationships, sometime’s people have specific preferences called fetishes or-”

“Sokka, I am not having this conversation with you.” Aang shut his eyes tight, bidding his mind to forget the words that just came out of his best friends mouth. “I’m not an idiot. I know what they are.”

Sokka flushed red. “…Oh.” He didn’t even wanna know how he knew…

_“Anyway…”_ Aang eyed his friend weirdly for a moment before going back to normal. _“_ I highly doubt that’s it. As far as I know, she hasn’t been in any kind of relationship so I don’t even think she knows about… uh, _preferences.”_ Sokka looked back down at the note, scanning the page once more.

“What’d you say to her?”

“Nothing that deserved _this_ reaction.” He sighed, hand running over his scalp, totally and utterly at a loss.

“You know, this thing between you two is really starting to creep me out,” Sokka grimaced.

“Thanks, Sokka. That’s really helpful-”

“I mean, I get it! She’s hot and all,” He took another sloppy bite and Aang frowned at his chosen words. “But she’s kind of terrifying, like… Queen of Spooky-town, or something. In her big spooky fire palace being all…” He leaned closer, wiggling his fingers in Aang’s, unamused, face. “Spooky-like!” _And people say_ I’m _immature?_

Aang couldn’t even laugh, he just shoved his friend out of his face. “She isn’t _that_ terrifying once you actually sit down and talk to her, Sokka, maybe you should try doing that.” Aang reprimanded with a sigh, taking the paper from Sokka’s hand with a snap.

“Oh, come on, Aang!” Sokka groaned. “Are you forgetting the time she _zapped_ you dead? Dead, for crying out loud!”

Aang smirked, remembering the other morning. “No.” And Sokka’s face turned to one of disgust.

“Ugh! Don’t make that face?!”

“What face?” He laughed, acting as innocent as ever, but Sokka saw right through him. He leaned closer… like really close, arching a brow up at him, inspecting every one of his features even as Aang reared back. “Geeze, let me breathe!” He complained, shoving his friend's shoulder. Sokka narrowed his gaze after a moment of thinking, analysing.

“Something happened.”

Aang blushed. “W-what?! Nothing happened! What are you talking about?” It was a sorry attempt. Aang couldn’t hide anything from him. But he couldn’t tell him about that morning. The kiss would have to do as a substitute.

“Man, you really are awful at lying.” Aang was prepared to jump on the defensive with a flurry of excuses, but Sokka cut him off. “Drop the bullshit and tell me what happened.”

They stared back at each other for a moment, Sokka glaring and Aang quickly shrinking under his stare. He gave in with a heavy sigh. “Alright.” Sokka perked up. “…I kissed her.”

Sokka looked dumbfounded, and almost lost for words. The silence lingered for what felt like aeons, Sokka’s eyes wider than saucers. “You _kissed_ her.”

“I kissed her.” He repeated with a nervous laugh, hand flying to the back of his neck.

Sokka just stared, mouth agape. “And… she kissed you back?”

“She did.”

He jumped up a little excitedly. “…Well?!”

Aang cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Well, what?”

And suddenly, he was being held by the shoulders and shook back and forth. “HOW WAS IT, YOU JERK?!”

They were nose to nose, Sokka’s hands locked in orange robes with Aang looking very uncomfortable as a pair of blue eyes darted between grey, back and forth. “It was good, I guess.” He shrugged. Sokka reared back, holding Aang at arm's length as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“Just… _good?”_ Sokka snarled in disgust. And Aang stared stoically for a moment… but he couldn’t hold back the absolutely gigantic smile that started pushing itself onto his lips.

He laughed. “Okay, maybe it was _better_ than good- OOF!”

He was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. “THAT’S MY BOY!”

“Okay, okay!” He started tapping at his shoulder. “I can’t… breathe-!” He let out in a strangled tone and was finally let free, the note that was in his hand now slightly crumbled. He took in a deep breath before letting it out again, Sokka looking at him as a proud mother as Aang turned his attention to the paper again. “Geeze…”

It wasn’t long after that Sokka peered over, reading the words again. “So, she obviously thinks you told her to do something.” He stroked his chin and Aang turned slowly at the words.

“Good to know you can read, Sokka.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to jog your memory.” Aang shook his head, looking back at that one line.

_‘Don’t tell me what to do. Ever.’_

“I didn’t tell her to do anything, that's the thing!” Aang sighed, feeling spent after a whole morning of reading and overthinking this stupid note.

“She’s paranoid then. She’s probably overthinking things just like you are.” Sokka reasoned, stroking his jaw in thought, watching as Aang folded the piece of paper and tucked it away.

“I knew she’d be difficult to understand…” He stood with a grunt, Sokka following and finishing off his apple at the same time, both men walking in the direction of the palace. “But I’m exhausted already.” He chuckled. Sokka couldn’t pretend to know what Aang was feeling. I mean, he was pursuing the freaking princess of the Fire Nation. His friend had some guts.

“I’d say the best you can do is confront her about it.” Aang grimaced.

“Do you know what it’s like confronting Azula about these kinds of things?” Sokka patted his friends back with a glint of mischief.

“I don’t… but you sure seem to, after all, you got close enough to kiss the woman!”

Aang groaned. “You better not keep bringing that up…” He dreaded it really. It was only a matter of time before Toph knew, and spirits only know what new nick-name she’d come up with for him.

Sokka gave his friend another slap on the back with a devious grin. “Oh, you are _never_ living this down.”

***

“Cheer up, Fire Lord,” Zuko grumbled in reply. “There's a whole city of people just behind that door and once it opens, the first thing they’ll see is their leader.”

“Always so humble, Avatar. You and I both know the first thing they’ll see is you and your _tattoos.”_

He scoffed quietly enough for only the brooding Fire Lord to hear. “Careful. You almost sound _jealous.”_

His black hair whipped around with him when he glared at Aang who stayed facing the large open ballroom showing not even the tiniest of reactions. His ability to remain steely faced whenever he wanted was something Zuko was envious of.

“My Lord,” One of his magistrates scuttled over to kneel before the highly raised platform, and Zuko noticed how akin he was to an ant scurrying along the ground.

“Yes?”

“The princess-” Aang straightened, sucking breath through his nose. “-Said to begin without her.”

“Oh for Agni’s sake, when is that girl going to learn not everything is about her?!”

_“Never,”_ Aang whispered with a scoff, but Zuko didn’t catch it.

“What is it this time? Is her lipstick the wrong colour?”

The adviser cringed, and Aang had to hold back the laugh that threatened to emerge.

“…Actually, that is _part_ of the problem, but-”

_“Oh for fuck’s sake,”_ He muttered under his breath and Aang couldn’t stop himself this time, the laugh spilling out and earning a side-eyed glare from golden eyes. “Just… go and help her with whatever bullshit excuse she has _this_ time.”

“Certainly, my Lord.”

The air had grown thick around the young Fire Lord once again and his fingers drumming against the armrest on the golden throne he sat on reeked of impatience. Aang had cleared the laugh out of his throat, though still revelled over the fact she got away with anything in this palace.

He wondered if she was worried about a simple thing such as her lipstick because of him in some way?

“Can’t we get this over with already?!” Zuko called, his voice bouncing off the walls and golden pillars in the empty ballroom, save for a few servants running about to make sure everything was up to speed. The odd one, usually a young woman, would make their way up onto the platform and pretend to fix the cushions or polish the gold on the Princess’s empty throne, simply to fawn over Aang. It was getting on Zuko’s nerves. "Somebody open the damn doors!”

“But, my Lord-”

“Open them!”

“Right away, my Lord!”

Aang chuckled, “Don’t you get tired of ‘My Lord’?”

“Don’t you get tired of the women?” He spat.

“Alright, Lord Zuko,” He turned away with a roll of his eyes. “No need to snap.”

“No need to say anything _at all.”_

Aang gave a sarcastic smile. “Whatever you say, _my Lord.”_ And sooner than he would have preferred, the doors were being opened, the string quartet was beginning to play and the piercing scream of fan girls was ringing in both of their ears. Right… I f _orgot about such a… lovely detail._ Aang rolled his eyes.

They had also both forgotten about the most boring, most tedious element of the night: a Royal announcement for each and every nobleman, woman and family to arrive.

This was going to take _forever._

Aang said a short prayer for his quickly numbing backside. _Here we go…_

“General Sanji and his wife, Lady Arisa.” It was the first announcement of many. Even over the man’s voice, the screaming outside was loud and clear.

The man and wife gave a bow and moved off to one of the many servants with a tray holding flutes of champagne and took one each. The idea of nearly fifty of these announcements going on gave Aang a headache, but the screaming grated on the Fire Lord’s nerves more.

_“… can see him… oh, spirits… so handsome I might faint… look there… can see his arrow… oh, I can’t believe… same room as the Avatar… rumours that he is looking for a woman to… going to be breathing the same air as… sexy… Avatar Aang… repopulate the Air benders… gorgeous… I would be happy to help him…”_

“And when I thought this situation couldn’t possibly get any worse…”

Aang sighed. “I just try to block it out,”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

He paused, a low chuckle coming from his lips after a moment of deliberation - or after hearing a rather _fruitful_ confession from one of the girls. “Not too great.” Zuko had a look of pure revulsion on his face.

“I LOVE YOU AVATAR AANG!”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Couldn’t you just tell them to shut up?”

Aang sighed, a heavy one, but while making sure the frustration didn’t show on his face out of respect for the guests. “Believe me, Zuko, If I could, I would.”

“I guess that’s another thing we agree on.” They were in the middle of a tight-lipped back and forth, still being careful enough to remember when to bow back to the nobles and to pay at least some attention.

“What’s the first?” He questioned after a moment of smiles and bows.

“That we’d actually rather talk to _each other_ than pay attention to this Hierarchy bullshit.”

Aang had to laugh at that. “So much for blurring the line between a Royal and a commoner, huh, Fire Lord Zuko?”

“For crying out loud, we’re sitting-” Pause. Smile. Bow. Snicker quietly and then go back to their conversation. “We’re sitting about… four foot off the ground on golden thrones. They couldn’t separate us more if they tried. I mean, the civilians are being crowded around out there like a flock of koala-sheep.”

It was annoying Aang more than he let on, but he’d bite his tongue. It wasn’t worth the argument. Especially since he would never win it, Avatar or not.

“And most just to catch a _glimpse_ of the all mighty _Avatar.”_

Aang cringed. “Don’t make me feel any more uncomfortable than I already do,” He wiggled a little in his seat and Zuko chuckled at the double meaning behind his words.

“Yeah. I can’t feel mine either.”

It was the first time in a while that they had gotten on even a little bit. And it was nice. There was no more Katara shoving a wedge between them anymore; so it seemed, despite the Fire Lord’s constant bad mood and the Avatar’s snippy comments just in order to amuse himself, they had no reason to fight if they overlooked the grudges. “These extravagant cushions really aren’t doing anything to help my backside, Zuko, maybe you should find something else to spend…” Aang slowed to a stop, noticing how Zuko’s smile had faded and that his attention had landed elsewhere. When Aang paid attention himself, he found the cause just by looking ahead and listening.

This would not be pleasant. “Lady Mai; who is attending in the absence of her brother and parents.”

_“I didn’t think she’d come.”_ He spoke through his teeth, the tension evidently coursing through his body. The drumming of his fingers starting up again was hard to miss.

“Zuko, keep it together-”

“I am.” He snapped.

“Sure doesn’t look like it.” Aang murmured to Zuko. But it was as if a switch had flipped in his brain. The old Fire Lord was back. “Just because-”

“Refrain from speaking until the announcements are over.”

Aang didn’t even try to hide the disappointment in his sigh - not from Zuko and not from Mai, either, who had walked her way up like every other guest before her. But daring and calculating and entirely emotionless as Mai could be, she locked her eyes with the Fire Lord’s and gave an excruciatingly slow bow as if to _really_ announce her arrival. Just before she moved off, she gave Aang a quick glance. A quick glance and a soft smile. There wasn’t an ounce of hostility between them since Aang and Mai had remained good friends. It was only the Fire Lord she was cold towards: ever since he ended their relationship for no apparent reason.

A _reason_ the girl had most likely discovered on her own.

Katara.

It definitely explained why she decided to accept the invitation and arrive in the most fetching ballgown Aang had seen on any noblewoman so far. She obviously wanted to show the Fire Lord what exactly he gave up - and what he would never get back - one last time.

Though what Aang didn’t realise was how much worse things were just about to get.

“And now, with the highest respect, I present the heroes of the hundred-year war.” The pair stiffened. “Toph Beifong of the Beifong family, Master Earthbender, the Avatar’s faithful teacher and the world’s first Metalbender.” This time, there was applause, as Toph rocked up in a mint green dress. Aang couldn’t help but smile.

“No way am I bowing to you _sissies.”_ She smirked when she reached the platform, then turning and walking straight to the alcohol. He chuckled. Only Toph Beifong could get away with such disrespectful behaviour.

“Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, Master swordsman and- uh,” Aang rolled his eyes as Sokka frantically whispered in the mans ear before sliding back to his spot with the most ridiculous look on his face. “and the, uh, best warrior the Southern Watertribe has ever seen, and-” Aang arched an eyebrow down at his bowing friend, wondering what the second ‘and’ entailed. “-the Avatar’s best friend.” Sokka grinned and Aang shook his head at the short flurry of screams mixed in with the applause. Of course, Sokka would want that fact to be known. Zuko scoffed beside him.

But then the men’s eyes moved to land on crystal white with sky-blue - a ball gown fit for a queen - and thick dark chocolate hair. “Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe; Master Waterbender and the Avatar’s teacher,” This was awkward. “Master healer and the saviour of both the Avatar and the Fire Lord.” She avoided Zuko completely, bowing as quickly as was still deemed respectful, but gave Aang a short look, Zuko still drumming his fingers as the applause went on.

She looked stunning. Aang couldn’t deny. He had never seen her in white and noticed without a bother that the colour complimented her complexion beautifully. It _almost_ felt like a knock to the teeth for the both of them.

“That concludes-” Aang had thought he’d be free to stretch his legs, but apparently not since the servant from earlier had rushed to the announcer and cut him off just before Aang was set free from sitting on the damned throne. Zuko was ready to set the whole place on fire. Just then, Aang noticed a commotion in the crowd outside and he arched a brow at the sight. It was hard not to think the worst. So he prepared himself to jump if needs are.

However, the announcer cleared his throat and resumed his position, settling any doubt in Aang’s mind and allowing his muscles relaxed. “My apologies. We have one last and very important guest to introduce before the ball can commence. May I present, with the utmost respect and devotion, the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation,”

Aang’s muscles tensed again. Ears pricked up at the word ‘Princess’. His eyes shot straight to the open double doors. The ability to breathe was stripped from him all while a wave of gasps swept through the ballroom like lightning.

There she was,

“Sister of our Fire Lord,”

Looking straight ahead with her hair clipped back from her face, so stunning that his heart skipped a beat,

“Daughter of Ozai and Ursa,”

Donning a black and gold ball gown, unlike anything he had _ever_ seen, _anywhere_ in the world, not only in the Fire Nation tonight,

“Fire bending prodigy and Master of lightning,”

Wearing deep red lipstick that instantly grabbed his attention.

“Azula.”

He found he couldn’t peel his eyes from her while she didn’t dare lay an eye on him. Her bow was slow, steady and sure while his heart was erratically fast, beating against his ribcage with the mercy of a sledgehammer. Most of her skin, unexpectedly for the princess, was covered in black satin and lace and yet he wanted to touch her far more desperately than before. Lastly was her lips; impossibly striking and begging to be kissed like any other day.

The dress she wore was something of her mothers. The bodice was fitted, with a cuff neck that left only her arms bare, embroidered with intricate gold lace that had a gorgeous shimmer to it when the light hit it. The waist was cinched and set out into a delicate black satin and widely pleated ballgown skirt. The golden lace from the bodice faded out into the skirt. But the most unique feature of all was a black chiffon cape with edges embroidered in the same golden lace that draped right to the floor in gorgeous waves and covered her arms if she kept them by her side. It looked heavy, there was so much detail embroidered into it, black lace covering the expanse of it with tiny shimmers and glitters catching the light. The thing was definitely fit for royalty and no less. Spirits only know how much it was worth.

It was a gown completely deserving of the breathless gasps emanating all over the room.

No one in the palace had seen a dress like this. Aang was completely awestruck and his eyes had locked onto her from the moment she appeared to the moment she had moved off to the left of the dance floor. Aang was overcome with her: so much so, he didn’t notice the city-people feeding into the ballroom at last or the crowd of girls in brightly coloured dresses running straight to the platform at which he still sat, eyes never leaving the back of _her_ head.

“Get up!”

“Huh? Right, sorry. I’m coming.” He did get up, but he just couldn’t seem to look away from her for more than two seconds.

“Aang!” He was out of it. Not even the screams bellow were resonating with him. All he could see was her. He didn’t even notice Katara’s eyes burning into him. “You can get trampled by a stampede of fangirls for all I care.” Zuko huffed, turning and leaving in a rush.

It was then that Aang realised they were trying to climb the platform and the guards were struggling to hold them back, so he turned and followed Zuko suit. He had to get to her. Had to talk to her, dance with her, do anything with her. This had been his plan from the beginning, but seeing her now, his desire to even be near her had skyrocketed.

This woman was absolutely phenomenal, and quite possibly the most interesting person he had ever met.

***

Azula was minding her own business, watching the peasants as they pranced about the palace ballroom with far too much energy, making a fool out of themselves. Though, how else would one react when in the presence of the Royal Family and the Avatar? Speaking of whom… oh never mind; her glass was a little on the full side to be thinking of such a thing. Azula did not, under any circumstance, want to see him. No. Not at all.

She did have to force herself not to sneak a glance at him on that godawful pedestal that she knew he would have hated.

In one go she downed the remains from her glass and instantly spotted a server with another tray, and this time when she beckoned him to her she snatched two, downing them both within seconds of each other before emptying the tray when grabbing a third. This one she sipped like a princess should, but found herself looking for him immediately. Despite herself, she blamed it on the alcohol. Since, you know… she didn’t want to see him or anything.

One of the weirder things about this situation was the fact she was watching over the dancing crowd with none other than that Water Tribe peasant herself. Katara; who looked like she hated her life - even with her beautiful dress and stunningly shiny hair that Azula, of all people, was admitting to.

She would blame this on the Champagne, too. “I must say,” She piped up, and Katara was startled to hear her voice. She barely even knew she was there. When she turned to see the princess, however, her eyes were on the crowd and a flute of champagne was close to her lips as if she hadn’t said anything at all. But she parted her lips. “Your dress is quite nice.”

Katara thought for sure she was hearing things. “…You’re giving me a compliment?”

Azula scoffed. “No. I’m simply stating a fact.”

“Of course…”

Azula took another sip, silently declaring their conversation over with her eyes still scanning the now slightly spinning crowd. Evidently, they landed on the source of all her problems and she immediately looked away, pretending she hadn’t seen him coming towards her. When she did, she felt that dizzying sensation again and realised this was hitting her quicker than usual. She glanced down at the glass curiously.

“Well, if we’re stating facts—” Katara went piped up and Azula regretted ever opening her mouth, sighing with a well-practised roll of her eyes. “Then I’m sure you already how beautiful your own dress is.”

“I do.” She muttered and pushed herself from the pillar she had been leaning against in order to get away. Reason being she had smelled his intoxicating scent before she even laid eyes on him, and knew it was time to go. “Well, if you’ll excuse me-” She directed to the girl, but soon found she was too late.

“Azula.” She grit her teeth, his voice rumbling like thunder behind her. Of course, that Water Tribe peasant just had to hold her up so that she couldn’t get away in time.

_You know that isn’t true. Really, you wanted him to get to you. You wanted him to-_

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Still, even now, with all the resentment and anger she felt towards him, the tenor of his voice reverberated through her with the force of a stampede of rough rhinos. Or maybe that oddly wobbling sensation had been something else. She felt the urge to clear her throat again and did so, making sure to compose herself before she faced him.

Sharply, she turned with her nose up in the air, “What is it?” With her hands respectably clasped in front of her in the most diplomatic way, even with the champagne in one of her hands. She had _every_ intention of making him feel uncomfortable under her stare. But it seemed her attempts only made him smile.

Only for a moment, however, since he had noticed Katara’s presence. “…Not here,” He said quietly while casting an eye over the princess’s shoulder to the, suspiciously quiet, girl in white.

“Why not?” The princess unexpectedly bit back loudly, and Katara took a careful sip from her glass. Instantly, a harsh line set between his brows because Azula clearly knew what he meant and without a doubt caught his more than obvious eye gesture, so why was she playing dumb?

_“Really?”_ He hissed under his breath, and she moved back a little with a slight wobble. Exposing him to Katara as she turned, champagne glass still in hand, she startled the girl, who was very clearly listening in to their conversation, when she addressed her directly.

“Katara, don’t you think Aang could use a drink?”

“Azula…” He warned, taking a tone he very rarely used.

“He looks very... _tense.”_ She said, ignoring him, ignoring the light-headedness, and glanced up at him patronisingly, driving his nails to bite into the palms of his hands. “Don’t you think so, too, Katara?”

“Uh… don’t drag me into this-”

“Oh, but you were prepared to listen in _before?”_

Aang’s frown lessened a bit. Maybe this was actually a dig at Katara, not at him. Her eyes grew wide, arms suddenly closing over her middle with a nervous laugh. “No, I wasn’t-?”

Azula turned her head to her in a rapid motion that consequently made the room spin. She would ignore it. “Oh, spare me the excuses,” Azula said sourly.

“Excuses? I-”

“Are you going to leave or am I going to have to make you?” She suddenly spat as if speaking to a servant.

“There’s no need to be rude.” He spoke up, much to Katara's gratitude. He locked his eyes on Azula who was smirking up at him - in the way that turned his stomach, not the way that turned him on.

“No, no. It’s alright Aang.” Katara replied calmly, but her features gave off quite the opposite impression. “I wouldn’t expect any more from such a _stone cold bitch!”_

Azula gasped over-dramatically. “You’re giving me a compliment?”

“Oh, _grow up,”_ Katara spat before finally making her escape, leaving Aang just short of losing his temper with the princess.

There was a silence of Azula drinking and again watching the blurry crowd while Aang watched Katara stomp her way away, waiting until she was out of ear-shot. When she was, he used that tone again. The one he had hidden away for times when the princess pushed him too far and - though she wouldn't admit - it affected her.

“When will you _ever_ _learn_ to _bite_ your _tongue?!”_

“Hmm… I don’t know.” She feigned a thoughtful, totally mocking expression before turning to him. _“You_ might have to bite it _for me…”_ She glared at him with that smirk again, slurring her words a little.

“Spirits... you really have no filter.” Aang grimaced, watching as she point-blank ignored his complaint and turned her head. She was always confident that he wouldn't leave her side. And she was always right.

“The peasant's gone, so what did you want to talk to me about?”

He eyed her. She seemed a little off. “I can’t remember.” Of course, he remembered. He wanted to ask about the note, but that was the second time she wobbled on her feet and squinted at the crowd so he decided he could wait to a time when her mind was clear of any alcohol.

“Well, do you like my dress?” She went on.

Aang couldn’t lie. “It’s… breathtaking.” She smirked, before frowning and clearing her throat once more, but it just wasn’t working so she downed the rest of the champagne in hopes of the liquid dislodging the lump in her throat.

Aang didn’t really know where to look with her staring straight ahead, so he scanned the room. 

At first, he thought it was odd to see a servant nearby with an empty tray. It looked suspicious, and for a short moment his heart rate sped up - that was until two guests placed their empty glasses on the tray and moved on. So he let it pass.

He looked down again, her features stunning from any angle and he found himself in a momentary trance. Obviously, she noticed. “So… you don’t think my dress is too ‘Fire Nation’ do you?” She teased, and all Aang could do was watch her, confused. What was that supposed to mean?

“Uh… no? I don’t really know what you mean.” She laughed and looked up at him, but as she did she saw in double-vision, her hand flying up to hold the side of her head as she swayed. He reached a hand out to steady her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She snapped back, trying her best to stand straighter.

That's when he noticed, just before he could say anything, the empty champagne flute in her hand. It was obvious she had had more to drink than just that, so he willed himself to calm and took her free hand --

“Hey,” She protested rather sluggishly.

\-- and gently tugged her in the direction of the gardens. Or… she thought that was where he was taking her… to be honest, everything was becoming a blur.

“It looks like the bubbles have gone to your head quicker than you anticipated.” He commented lightly, deciding a bit of fresh air was her best bet, but just before she was dragged away her honey eyes met a pair that was unfamiliar. And it seemed they were staring straight at her. All she could do was furrow her brows at the strange stare and look back to his arrowed hand holding hers - a blur of blue and porcelain.

Instead of listening to him, she had tried to pull her hand from his and quickly found that he was right. She was indeed drunk. She had barely an ounce of strength. And she was stumbling so much now that she was surprised she hadn’t fallen on her face. “Stop walking _so fast,”_ She spoke up but found that the lump in her throat made it hard to do so.

Aang let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not walking fast at all, Azula.” Her eyes widened.

Then why was it that everything around her was going fuzzy?

None of this made sense. Even if the small amount of champagne had made her drunk (which was debatable since her tolerance could surpass even her brother's) it couldn’t have taken its effect on her so quickly.

Aang was still pulling her along and they were so close to the doors, but he was still having to drag her along… like _dead weight._ She hadn’t been _that_ bad. And she found that even though the cool air felt nice against her too hot skin, she couldn’t breathe it in. Aang had already slowed to a snail's pace but she was trying to get the words out to tell him he needed to stop. She needed to catch her breath. And he was getting frustrated now because she was swaying widely from left to right, her hand completely limp in his and he had had enough. She must be putting this on.

“Azula you need to-” He whipped around.

It was when he saw her that all time froze - because her knees suddenly buckled before him and she collapsed, her hand slipping from his and flying to her throat weakly, and her skin went even paler than usual. _“Something— wrong—”_ She managed to choke out through heaving gasps for air and Aang didn’t know how he was able to but he skidded over to her, face draining of any colour like her but for a very different reason. _He_ was _panicking._

_She_ couldn’t _breathe._

Suddenly, and much to his terror, she started vomiting. Her dress was pooled around her as she slumped on the ground gagging and Aang didn’t know what to do. He was reaching for her but he didn’t know what to do because there was blood. She was choking up blood and something else and it was on his robes and her beautiful dress and she was clutching at her throat and she couldn’t breathe and-

“KATARA!”

His voice was again like thunder rolling through the clouds and a few heads turned to find the princess and a very, _very_ pale Avatar who was reaching his hands out to the girl aimlessly with eyes wide in absolute horror.

Someone screamed.

“KATARAAA! PLEASE KATARA! FOR SPIRIT’S SAKE SOMEONE GET KATARA!” He was yelling at the top of his lungs and she was coughing and gagging but it sounded so much worse because there was no breath and even with the opaque colour of her lipstick he could see her lips were turning blue and that's when he really, really started to panic. “KATARA!” She vomited again. It was just this gagging, guttural sound and there was nothing he could do to help her because she wasn’t choking on anything she was dying. And a man was staring at him with his mouth agape in shock, and the room had filled with screams, and the music had ceased aeons ago and she couldn’t breathe. And this man was still staring-

“WHAT THE _FUCK_ ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE?! DO SOMETHING FOR SPIRIT’S SAKE SHE’S DYING! DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME? FIND KATARA!” Aang screamed until his face felt like it could explode and his throat felt sickeningly raw.

He was shaking with anger and fear and an adrenaline rush that was just on the verge of summoning the Avatar state. All of this tripled when her hand shot out to grip his robes so tightly that they ripped and she clawed and he knew his skin would be bloodied and raw but so was the skin at her throat that she was clutching at with her other hand that she and she was _dying_ so really he had _nothing_ to complain about. And all he could do was rub her back as soothingly as was possible with his madly trembling hand and- “You’re going to be fine, just fine.” He cooed, her hair covering her face and her hands stained with blood and sticky with vomit. “Katara’s going to help you-” He snapped his head up. “KATARA! PLEASE! SOMEONE FIND KATARA FOR SPIRIT'S SAKE WHY ARE YOU ALL JUST-?!”

And the most terrifying, most awful thing happened. Her hand stilled at his leg and she slumped on her side, all blood and bile and something white still spilling from her open mouth as she fell unconscious. “No… no no no, no! NO! KATARA! KATARAAAAAAA-!”

“AANG! AANG, IM-”

“OH THANK THE SPIRITS, Katara... she's been poisoned or something I don't know it's not- it isn't- I don't know... she was fine...” His voice trembled and stammered as he lifted the almost lifeless princess with shaking hands into his lap as Katara came sprinting, her face tight with panic as she skidded to a stop, her white dress coming up in a cloud of fabric as she pulled water straight from the air and moved to Azula’s chest, but the high neck of her dress covered where her hands needed to be.

“I-I can’t-”

Aang spared no moment, wasted no time on modesty and with a loud, wet sniff to compose himself, he took hold of the high collar and ripped it with a hoarse grunt, moving down the bodice and ripping, splitting the thing in two until Katara’s hands could go where they needed to. _I’m sorry._ He thought. _It was such a beautiful dress._

The water was glowing in no more than a half a second and as time went on the glow only became more intense as Katara constantly pulled more water from the air the longer she healed.

“Come on…” Aang murmured, his face wet with tears he couldn’t really remember shedding and his hands and whole body shaking with the floor, his robes, her dress, Katara’s dress and Azula’s beautiful face marred with blood. That was when Zuko came running and he dropped to his knees as soon as the sight of his unconscious sister locked onto his conscious.

_“…No… this is all my fault…”_

“Aang, her heart isn’t beating,”—

_“This is all my fault…”_

—“Okay… okay, what do I do-”

“Chest compressions,”—

_“…My fault…”_

—“Okay,”

“You remember when I taught you?”

“Y-Yes.” And he lay her on her back on the cold, hard floor.

_“…All my fault…”_

There was no time to be careful. He clasped his hands tight together, lay them over where her heart should be and began pumping in a constant rhythm. Katara was shaking. She had never been in a situation such as this but her instincts didn’t fail her. While Aang tried and tried to get Azula's heart beating again, she began to glide her hands all over the woman’s body. The poison was in her blood. It was circulating through her, and Katara had to draw it out.

“Please… you can’t die… you can’t… not before...” Aang murmured, using all his strength, every last bit despite his trembling muscles. “You just  _can’t!”_ He kept on going.

_“No… how could I let this happen… how could I…”_ Zuko stared blankly ahead, talking to himself, Katara leaving no portion of her body untouched, Aang never taking a break, and the tears never stopping. _“It’s all my fault, mother, I’m sorry.”_

“Aang, let me see if-”

“NO! I CAN’T STOP OR SHE’LL DIE-” He yelled.

“YOU’RE BREAKING HER RIBS!” She yelled back louder.

His mouth fell open and he stopped, rubbing his sleeve over his mouth and then over Azula’s and he bent down and tried to fill her lungs with air in the meantime. Katara was trying, she was trying so hard, but detecting whatever this was, was hard. The gasping, screaming crying crowd wasn’t helping-

“CAN EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!” She screamed, and it was like a light going out. The room was silent, and Katara shut her eyes—

“Please…” Aang sobbed between breaths, and it was the only sound anyone could hear now. Toph and Sokka were standing close by, speechless for all the wrong reasons.

“I never thought this would happen to someone like princess…” Toph whispered, completely in shock.

—and she moved her hands over the girl's chest, but her bindings were in the way, so she ripped them open herself while still controlling the water. The adrenaline was enough to expand her healing power as she continued her search; looking for something out of place, something so abnormal, she-

Katara gasped. “There’s fluid in her lungs.”

And without a moments thought, Aang retracted knowing what she was going to do, his chest heaving as he watched with paralysing fear. Katara did exactly as she did when Aang almost drowned all those years ago, reaching deep down into her chi to feel the fluid she couldn’t see and she gripped, pulled upwards past Azula's sternum, her throat and up from her mouth, and out came a mess of blood and… and something else. She discarded it without a thought.

“Try again.” She commanded Aang after having healed some of her broken ribs during the search.

Aang clasped his hands and moved to her heart once more, pumping and moving to fill her lungs again, pumping and filling her lungs, pumping and filling her lungs, all the while Katara repaired the damage throughout her body; her arms, her hands, her feet, her legs and up to her throat when she had the room and Aang kept going all the while, Katara finding and untying the knotted and repairing the broken chi within her body.

_“…It’s all my fault…”_

Aang kept going, and going, his hope slipping away bit by painful bit as he stared down at her lifeless face but he willed himself to keep going, and going, and going- until a loud, husky inhale jumped him out of his focus and Katara’s eyes shot open, the whole room vibrating with a relieved gasp, to see the princess heaving and Aang smiling and laughing out of his state of shock, whispering that she would be alright, brushing a knuckle across her cheek and-

But it wasn’t over yet. She was soon reeling on her side, heaving, the blood and bile coming again.

“Aang, we have to get her to a bathhouse. The poison is still in her system.”

Aang nodded and pushed Azula’s hair from her face, “You’re going to be okay-”

“SOMEONE GET ME A GLASS OF WATER!” Sokka ran to do just that.

“Katara’s going to help you, you’re going to be okay.”

Katara was glad Azula had regained consciousness, but she knew this wasn’t over. Neither her nor Aang would be sleeping tonight. That didn’t matter, however. With a life on the line, nothing else should matter.

They could breathe a sigh of relief for even though it wasn’t over, the worst had passed.

****

“And? Where you successful?”

The man swallowed hard, fearing for what reaction may come when he admitted failure. “…No, my Lord.”

A long silence passed. One could hear the gritting of teeth. _“No?”_ The man growled, fury shining in a pair of golden eyes.

“There was nothing I could do. The Avatar and that Water Tribe girl got to her just in time.”

“What do you mean ‘just in time’? There shouldn’t have been even the slightest of chances she would survive that poison, you incompetent _bastard!”_

“T-that is what I was told, Lord Ozai, but the girl’s healing abilities are stronger than we had anticipated-”

“Well, there’s only one thing to do then, isn’t there?” He spat out, the corners of his mouth dipping down into a deep scowl. _“Get rid of her.”_

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _guess who's back? (back...back...) Back again? ('gain... 'gain...)_  
>  Yeah... heh  
> It's me  
> you know, when you actually look how many words I freaking write, it makes up for the time!!!!  
> Also this chapter was _HELL_ to write  
>  like I can't count on one hand how many times I changed it  
> ...  
> so anyway, as you can see, the ending has come as a shock  
> but next chapter will make up for whatever confused thoughts you are having right now!!!! 'Assassination attempts' has been mentioned before tho...  
> Hope you guys liked it!!! I'm gonna need a few days to get over the emotional trauma I have just put myself through writing this.


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